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Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has announced that it intends to continue building highly fuel-efficient, eco-friendly ships after being recognized at the Nor-Shipping's first Clean Shipping Awards - a first for a Korean Shipbuilder.

The company won the award for the Amundsen Spirit, a 110,000 ton shuttle tanker that is currently under construction.

With the strengthening of environmental regulations on the global shipbuilding industry, the Clean Shipping Awards were introduced this year at Nor-Shipping, the world' s largest marine transportation and shipping fair, to recognize companies that are taking a leadership role in the areas of environmental protection and eco-friendly shipbuilding technology.

The award-winning Amundsen Spirit is the 1st of the four 110,000 ton shuttle tanker ships that Samsung Heavy Industries is building to an order from Teekay (Canada). The ship won the award for its excellent eco-friendly design that reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

The cutting-edge eco-friendly ship is said to fully comply with the environmental regulations of DNV, and has been built in accordance with the Guidance for Green Passport, which will soon be mandated.

Samsung Heavy Industries also announced that it intends to be proactive in anticipating tighter regulations on gas emissions, and will enhance its sales capability with a ship that dramatically reduces emissions of volatile organic compounds during operation, has adopted a new system of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds System), and maximizes fuel efficiency through optimized design.

The EU and North America are already designated as ECAs (Emission Control Areas), which require ships traveling in these zones to gradually comply with strict environmental standards in relation to gas emissions. On a global level, environmental regulations are increasingly being tightened.

"By winning the Clean Shipping Awards, Samsung Heavy Industries has proven that it can build highly efficient eco-friendly ships that meet the new trend of the global shipbuilding industry. SHI predicts that the ability to design and build eco-friendly ships will determine the competitiveness of shipbuilders when demand for ships picks up in the future," the company said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Samsung Heavy Industries added: "We intend to focus on developing new technologies related to eco-friendliness and clean ships, including technologies to reduce CO2 emissions, clean fuels and methods of hazardous waste treatment. We will transform these new blue-ocean products into new growth engines by developing clean technologies".