Hanwha’s hull monitoring solution gets green light from ABS

South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean has won approval in principle (AIP) from the classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for its advanced hull monitoring system.

As disclosed, the AIP relates to the ABS SMART structural health monitoring (SHM) Tier 3. This tier recognizes systems that employ hull sensors combined with additional algorithms to generate structural health insights at critical locations, even those with no sensors present.

According to the South Korean player, its system is designed to estimate structural damage to ships and offshore assets during operation, supporting decision making for the optimal maintenance timing to maintain safety. 

“Recently, shipowners have been including digital technologies as part of their contractual requirements, and classification societies are also in the process of refining regulations related to digitalization. Based on this approval, we will proactively respond to the growing demand for smart and digital technologies in the shipping industry,” said Young Chang Shon, Chief Technology Officer at Hanwha Ocean.

The AIP is said to be one of the first results stemming from the offshore technology collaboration agreement the two players signed in September 2024. The collaboration agreement promotes technology development in digitalization and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity operations, and sustainability.

Patrick Ryan, ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, noted: “ABS celebrates this achievement with Hanwha Ocean, a milestone in our collective pursuit of safety at sea. As a leader in supporting the adoption of smart technologies in the maritime and offshore sectors, ABS recognizes the transformative capabilities of these systems – advancing health and condition awareness, operational optimization and, eventually, classification supported by condition-based programs.”

Last week, Hanwha held a naming ceremony for a seventh-generation drillship with partners Constellation Oil Services and Petrobras. Named Tidal Action, the drillship will work on the Roncador field in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil for Petrobras.

In October 2024, ABS and another classification society, France’s Bureau Veritas (BV), each granted an AIP for the preliminary front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) of a standard floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility designed by Hanwha.

The concept entails a 340-meter-long and 62-meter-wide unit with a daily crude oil production capacity of 190,000 barrels and the ability to store around 2.38 million barrels of crude oil. The firm believes the standardized concept will help boost its competitiveness as it will lead to shorter construction periods and lower costs.