KSOE and ABS agree to develop autonomous ships

HD Hyundai CEO Chung Ki-sun, second from right, and Christopher Wiernicki, CEO at American Bureau of Shipping, far right, pose for a photo in Las Vegas on Friday. [HD HYUNDAI]

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) signed a memorandum of understanding with American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to develop autonomous shipping technologies.

The companies plan to develop autonomous vessel engines and integrated safety control systems. They will also demonstrate the technologies, HD Hyundai said on Sunday.

HD Hyundai owns 30.95 percent of KSOE.

KSOE and ABS signed the memorandum of understanding on Friday at the CES in Las Vegas.

They plan to test HiCBM and HiCAMS systems on real ships by 2024. They are artificial intelligence-based systems that enable ships to diagnose automatically their key functions and deal with unexpected accidents like fire.

KSOE received approvals in principle for the two systems from ABS last September.

If the test is successful, it will be the first development of an unmanned vessel that can travel long distances.

The signing was attended by the HD Hyundai CEO Chung Ki-sun and Christopher Wiernicki, CEO of ABS.

The Texas-headquartered ABS has published technical standards for ships and other marine structures, such as offshore and mobile drilling units.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]