The Marshall Islands’ cargo ship, SV Juren Ae, is in its final stage of construction at the ASIA Shipbuilding Company on Geoje Island in South Korea.
According to a release from the German Agency for International Development, which is known in Majuro as GIZ*, this week the dedicated rigging team is focusing their efforts on finalizing the construction of the ship’s four sails.
Meanwhile, a significant milestone was recently reached with the installation of the main instruments and other machine equipment. “The engine room is now well-equipped, and the bridge, with its data measuring corner, is set up to assist in collecting data on emissions during future operations,” the release stated.
All of the crew has arrived in Geoje and they are gearing up for the journey to the Marshall Islands.
In recent weeks the team welcomed a high-level visitor to the shipyard, Gavin Allwright from the International Windship Association (IWSA), which plays a pivotal role in advancing wind propulsion in the global shipping industry. The association unites all stakeholders involved in innovative development within the wind-ship sector, influencing both industry perspectives and governmental policies. The propulsion and auxiliary systems on SV Juren Ae have been designed to maximize the utilization of renewable energy sources such as wind and sun. This is achieved by using advanced sail technology and photo voltaic modules. The potential savings, to be determined as part of the trials, are forecasted to be substantial, with simulations indicating a high savings potential of up to approximately 80 percent.
Raffael Held, the Project Manager at GIZ, expressed his enthusiasm for the vessel’s progress: “The upcoming completion of this prototype is a major step towards decarbonization of shipping in the Marshall Islands. We are proud to be working with our partners to support the transformation of shipping in the region. With the delivery of SV Juren Ae to the Marshall Islands Shipping Corporation in the next month, RMI will have a new flagship underlining its transformation in the shipping sector.”
This month and in the first weeks of May, the Juren Ae is undergoing a series of sea trials and is then scheduled to be officially handed over to visiting MISC officials in the middle of May. After that, the maiden voyage to Majuro, which is about 2,800 nautical miles away, is set to begin. The plan is to use wind power for the majority of the voyage.
The GIZ team said: “We look forward to welcoming Juren Ae into the MISC fleet and will be watching out for the sails to appear on the horizon over Majuro Lagoon.”
*The GIZ Low Carbon Sea Transport project has been supporting the RMI’s targets to reduce carbon emissions from domestic shipping since 2017. In line with the UNFCCC’s Nationally Determined Contributions, the project aims to support the government’s goal of achieving a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from domestic shipping by 2030, with the aim of full decarbonization by 2050.