South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has launched a virtual centre to train vessel painters for its Okpo yard on Geoje Island.

The offshore and marine contractor said the virtual training centre would give painters the same experience as actual workplaces and will reduce costs.

In addition to the high costs and time required to train painters, the current system also causes environmental problems due to the use of organic solvents, news agency Yonhap reported Daewoo as saying.

The virtual training system will cut costs and require less paint, the shipbuilder said.

The European Union's antitrust regulator in late November resumed its investigation into the company's proposed merger with compatriot Hyundai Heavy Industries that it had started last year.

The European Commission said that its already delayed investigation is expected to be completed by 20 January 2022 although media reports last month claimed the EU would be giving the thumbs-down to the deal.