South Korean Shipbuilders Working on Smart Ships

South Korean Shipbuilders Working on Smart Ships
Jung Min-hee January 21, 2020 http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=40391

Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries are further enhancing the competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry of South Korea by developing smart ships incorporating Industry 4.0 technologies. The smart ships they are building already achieved fuel cost reduction, autonomous navigation and long-distance remote control.

Hyundai Heavy Industries recently developed a navigation optimization system based on artificial intelligence (AI) and its self-developed Hi-touch Marine & Stationary Engine (HiMSEN). The AI part in the system analyzes big data related to the engine and collected via intelligent ship equipment management solutions. The system reduces fuel costs by more than 10 percent in this way.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering signed a smart ship development agreement with Hyundai LNG Shipping last month and is planning to put a smart LNG carrier into operation in the first half of this year. It is going to collect navigation data on the carrier in order to establish a real-time remote monitoring system. The collected and analyzed data is expected to contribute to fuel efficiency enhancement, safe navigation and equipment repair and maintenance. In addition, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering applied its smart solutions to seven 23,000 TEU container ships Hyundai Merchant Marine ordered in 2018. The ships will be delivered in the second quarter of this year and later.

Last month, Samsung Heavy Industries succeeded in autonomous ship navigation for the first time worldwide. Its autonomous ship reached a preset destination by searching for an optimum route and avoiding obstacles. The company achieved precise remote ship control and autonomous navigation by combining the ship with 5G communications and cloud-based IoT technologies.