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Araon, the country’s first icebreaker, will be commissioned for scientific research and logistic purposes in both the Antarctic and Arctic regions. / Korea Times |
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
South Korea unveiled its first icebreaker, the Araon, which will set sail next month for a wide range of research projects in the Antarctic environment.
Hundreds of people, including high-ranking government officials and the family of the late scientist Jeon Jae-kyu, who was killed during a research operation in Antarctica in 2003, gathered at the western docks of Incheon port Friday for a ritual to christen the 7,487-ton ship.
Araon, the result of a 108-billion-won (about $92 million) investment, is capable of moving 37,000 kilometers for 70 days without an additional injection of fuel or other supplies, and is designed for operation in one-meter-thick ice conditions at the speed of 3 knots per hour. Korean shipbuilders Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanjin Heavy Industries collaborated in designing and assembling the vessel.
Araon will be commissioned for scientific research and logistics purposes in both the Antarctic and Arctic regions. The icebreaker will leave Incheon on Dec. 19 and head to Antarctica for a three-month expedition, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
``Of the 20 countries that have bases in the Antarctic, we were the only country that didn't have its own icebreaker, and this limited the scope of our research and capabilities,'' said a ministry official.
``We are hoping Araon will have a major role in helping the country secure natural resources and develop new sailing routes, and also contribute in the efforts to build more bases in the polar regions.''
The name Araon, which combines ``ara,'' meaning ``sea'' in the old Korean language, and ``on,'' meaning ``all,'' was a suggestion by Kim Myeong-ja, the mother of Jeon, whose death inspired the government efforts to build the ship.
Jeon, then a researcher at the King Sejong Base, the country's Antarctic research center on King George Island, was killed on the high seas in December 2003 while conducting research in a motorboat.
This raised the need to provide better ships and equipment for Korean researchers in Antarctica to facilitate their exploration and research efforts.
Korea has been showing particular interest in improving its understanding of the polar environment, opening the King Sejong Base in 1988 and also opening an Arctic research base in 2002.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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