This photo provided by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. shows a virus-killing lamp inside the vessel.
SEOUL, March 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. took a concrete step towards preventing the spread of the coronavirus on ships as part of a pilot project.
The company said Sunday that it installed virus-killing lamps on the 318,000-ton very large crude carrier (VLCC) VL Bright as part of testing efforts aimed at the prevention of COVID-19 transmission.
The trial run of the VLCC is scheduled to last until next Thursday.
For the VLCC, the shipyard installed a total of ten virus-killing lamps primarily in enclosed spaces, including control rooms, engine rooms, conference rooms and cafeterias.
The virus-killing lamps can remove up to 99 percent of the virus within 30 seconds, and are completely safe for humans.
The lamps maintain their sterilization function as long as they are turned on. They can contribute to preventing the spread of other infectious diseases in addition to the coronavirus.
During the trial run period, more than 100 people, including the ship’s own personnel as well as engineers for major equipment and those representing the shipowner and a classification society, will stay on the vessel for several weeks to perform various tests.
For those who embark on the ship on a trial run, COVID-19 testing is conducted twice before their boarding.
Nonetheless, there have been concerns about the possible spread of the coronavirus on the ship since it’s difficult to completely screen out virus patients due to the virus’s incubation period.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
