HD Hyundai: Pan Ocean LNG carrier to test AI technology

July 8, 2024, by Naida Hakirevic Prevljak

HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding holding company HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and its subsidiary HD Hyundai Marine Solutions have signed an agreement on the application of AI-based solutions with shipping company Pan Ocean, ship management company POS SM, and classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

By signing the agreement on June 27, 2024, the parties agreed to actively use AI-based technology to strengthen ship safety and reduce carbon emissions in the future.

The ‘AI Shipboard Safety Management Package Solution’ developed by HD KSOE will be used concerning ship safety. The solution diagnoses the status of major equipment on board the ship in real time, prevents accidents on ships in operation, and automatically recognizes emergency and unexpected situations to help respond quickly.

To this end, the companies plan to apply the abovementioned solution to Pan Ocean’s 174,000 cubic meter LNG carrier currently under construction at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and verify its effectiveness. The ship is slated for delivery to Pan Ocean in December this year.

HD Hyundai Marine Solutions’ AI-based solution ‘OceanWise’ will also be applied to reduce carbon emissions. Specifically, OceanWise measures and predicts carbon emissions using only the ship’s location information through accumulated big data and AI algorithms, and provides the optimal operation route to minimize fuel consumption.

Pan Ocean plans to apply the solution to reduce carbon emissions generated during ship operation, improve ship operation efficiency, and reduce costs (OPEX). In addition, ABS plans to verify the reliability of the solution and explore ways to automatically issue approval documents in conjunction with OceanWise when measuring carbon emissions required for the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in the future.

“We will do our best to fulfill our role so that our country’s marine industry can secure global competitiveness in the 4th industrial revolution utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology and lead the market with global standards,” Ahn Jung-ho, CEO of Pan Ocean, said.

“We plan to realize the ocean transformation envisioned by HD Hyundai by advancing marine AI solutions together with leading Korean shipping companies, ship operators, and credible classification societies,” Kim Sung-jun, CEO of HD Hyundai Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, noted.

“The importance of marine AI solutions that provide optimal operation guidelines is expected to continue to increase,” Lee Ki-dong, HD Hyundai Marine Solutions CEO, commented.

“We will explore supply channels for AI solutions through this business agreement.”

Last month HD KSOE and ABS signed a memorandum of understanding with Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) to collaborate on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to eliminate ship safety blind spots.

The MoU aims to use advanced technologies to increase seafarers’ situational awareness. The techniques could ultimately support increased autonomy on board, according to the partners.