Haesan News, Busan Reporting Team | Published: April 27, 2023, 1:55 PM
GeoView Co., Ltd., a leading marine exploration company in South Korea, has become the first private enterprise in the country to operate a specialized marine exploration vessel.
On April 25, GeoView held a commissioning ceremony for the GeoView DP-1 at Pier 1 of Busan Port. Until now, marine exploration vessels were exclusively operated by national research institutions such as the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST). GeoView is the first private company in South Korea to introduce and operate such a vessel.
The ceremony was attended by over 100 representatives from major offshore wind farm developers, including Norway’s state-owned Equinor, Denmark’s COP/CIP, Korea National Oil Corporation, Ørsted, Anma Offshore Wind, and Munmu Baram, highlighting their strong interest in the vessel.
The GeoView DP-1 will be deployed in Denmark-based COP’s “Haeuli Floating Offshore Wind Farm Project” off the coast of Ulsan, a project contracted in March.
The global push for renewable energy, such as the RE100 campaign, has driven rapid development of offshore wind farms worldwide. In South Korea, more than 89 offshore wind farm projects are being planned or developed as part of the government’s Renewable Energy 3020 initiative.
For offshore construction, developers must gather detailed data on seabed topography and sub-seafloor geology. While marine exploration is crucial for project design, construction monitoring, and post-construction inspection, the lack of vessels, equipment, technology, and proven track records has previously limited such projects to global firms in Europe and the U.S.
GeoView has achieved several milestones, including exporting marine exploration technology to the Philippines in 2019, completing the Wando-Jeju subsea power cable project in 2021, and successfully conducting Equinor’s “Firefly Floating Offshore Wind Farm” marine exploration off Ulsan in 2022. These achievements marked South Korea’s first export of marine exploration technology and the first successful execution of a foreign-funded marine exploration project by a domestic company.
With its new GeoView DP-1, GeoView is now positioned to compete alongside global marine exploration companies.
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Busan, GeoView’s CEO, Kim Hyun-do, emphasized the significance of this achievement:
“This is not just a success for a private company but a technological milestone that proves South Korea’s marine exploration capabilities have reached a global standard. Under our slogan, ‘We don’t buy technology, we create it,’ GeoView will continue to focus on technological innovation.”
The GeoView DP-1 boasts specifications that make it the most advanced private marine exploration vessel in South Korea. The vessel weighs 1,700 tons, measures 56.41 meters in length, 16 meters in width, and 6 meters in depth, and offers a deck area of 360 square meters. It can operate at speeds of up to 12 knots.
Source: Haesan News (http://www.haesanews.com)
