International regulatory trends for SMRs and challenges of shipboard applications highlighted as KR publishes 14th magazine issue

[Financial News] The Korean Register of Shipping (KR) said on the 29th that it had published the 14th issue of KR Decarbonization Magazine, a specialist publication on green shipping featuring regulatory trends in the shipping industry's decarbonization and the latest technological information.
This issue takes an in-depth look at the technological development of marine Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are drawing attention as a next-generation energy source for ships, and international regulatory trends. It reviews challenges in ensuring safety, operation and maintenance, economic viability, and licensing for the use of SMRs on ships, and introduces discussions at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on revising relevant regulations, international cooperation projects of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and KR's technical and regulatory cooperation activities.
It also analyzes the first-year results of FuelEU Maritime, the EU's shipping decarbonization regulation, whose implementation record is being assessed for the first time this year, along with response strategies.
In a technical interview, Kang Min-ho, executive vice president of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Engine Machinery Business Unit, discussed engine optimization and after-treatment technologies to reduce “methane slip”—the release of methane that remains unburned during the combustion of LNG fuel—as well as the challenges of commercializing methane oxidation catalyst systems.
The issue also summarizes major regulatory developments, including discussions on revising the EU's shipping carbon regulations and integrating procedures for reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions. It also features industry collaboration news, including KR's overseas committee meetings, the establishment of green shipping corridors in Korea, and the development of LNG carriers with wind-assisted propulsion.
Song Kang-hyeon, director of KR's Research Institute for Green Ships and Oceans, said, “Uncertainty remains over the introduction of the IMO's carbon-neutrality regulations, but EU environmental regulations and decarbonization demands from global cargo owners and financial markets are already becoming a reality.” He added, “Rather than waiting for uncertainty to be resolved, we need to strengthen our technological and strategic preparations so that we can respond flexibly to change.” 
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