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The ARAON, the first Korean-made icebreaking research vessel which will explore and research the pole, set sail
from the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Yeongdo shipyard in Busan on August 13, 2009.
Officials from the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Korea Polar Research Institute and Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion and engineers of HHIC got on the icebreaker for a sea trial.
The ARAON, a state-of-the-art research vessel weighing 6,950 tons, is 110 meters in length and 19 meters in breadth with a cruising speed of up to 16 knots (30km/h). This icebreaker, with 25 crew members and 60 researchers on board, is equipped with nearly 60 different types of high-tech research equipment and a helicopter. This state-of-the-art vessel is capable of breaking 1 meter of ice at 3 knots and sailing almost 20,000 nautical miles for 70 days.
‘The ARAON in the Ocean’ is praised as one of Korea’s top three scientific achievements along with ‘NARO, Korea’s
First Space Launch Vehicle, in the Sky’ and ‘KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) on the
Ground.’
With the launching of the Korean-made ARAON, research activities and construction of a polar research base will be
facilitated. Above all, since Korea will now be able to conquer future marine territory and carry out in-depth research on
the development of polar resources with a new and modern infrastructure in the polar regions, it is expected that
Korea’s status in polar research will be greatly improved.
The ARAON has also drawn great attention from the world. Unlike other icebreakers, it is a small research vessel
equipped with approximately 60 different types of advanced research equipment and facilities. In terms of research
capacity, it is one of the best vessels in the world. Therefore, many advanced countries have proposed joint research.
With the successful launching of the first icebreaking research vessel, HHIC has demonstrated its advanced
shipbuilding technology all over the world and improved the national reputation.
After the sea trials, the ARAON will be handed over to Korea Polar Research Institute in late September. Then the
vessel will set sail for exploration, research and supply activities at the pole beginning next year.
■ Photo: Sea trial of the icebreaker
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