Classification society ABS announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), a major Korean shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), a subsidiary of HD KSOE, and the Liberia International Ship and Company Registry (LISCR), to cooperate in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to eliminate blind spots in ship safety.
As previously announced, the MoU was signed at Posidonia 2024 in Greece.
Under this agreement, ABS will be able to support projects with design evaluation, certification of new technologies, approval in principle, and development of regulation guidelines that provide clear direction on technical requirements, safety standards, and regulatory compliance.
The memorandum aims to use advanced technology to improve mariners’ situational awareness, which could eventually help improve on-board autonomy, the people said.
“Safety is at the heart of everything we do at ABS and this project has great potential to advance maritime safety. Enabling AI support for mariners to achieve high-fidelity 360-degree visibility of assets could be a game-changer.” Said Christopher J. WiernickiChairman and CEO of ABS.
Jang GwangpilHD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering vice president Huang emphasized that this agreement is of great significance for the AI-based autonomous navigation and system automation solutions that HD Hyundai has developed.
ABS granted Approval in Principle to HHI’s autonomous technology in 2022. The AIP was awarded for four autonomous functional areas: navigation, machine health management, fire management and network infrastructure.
Meanwhile, HD KSOE last year signed an agreement with Avikus, a local startup specialising in autonomous navigation solutions, to carry out a project to verify fuel savings using an autonomous navigation system.
“We will lead the development of new types of ships while improving the safety of ships and their crews through advanced technological developments.” Jang Gwangpil concluded with these words.
