Ship without a crew
South Korea unveils inaugural autonomous containership
SOUTH Korea has launched a new containership which is set to achieve new milestones in the efforts to develop autonomous shipping.
The South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is highlighting the vessel as the first large, ocean-going ship designed for Level 3 autonomous shipping and they plan to launch the first longdistance international demonstrations of autonomous shipping with this vessel later this year.
At a ceremony last week, shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea marked the float out and naming of the vessel.
She is the Pos Singapore built for Pan Ocean.
Ordered in 2022, the vessel is 564 feet (172 meters) in length with a capacity of 1800 twenty-foot equivalent unit. Registered in Liberia, the 22,200 deadweight tonnage containership is scheduled to be delivered at the end of this month and then will begin outfitting and testing the autonomous system.
This project for autonomous shipping was launched in 2020 with the South Korean government committing more than $120 million for the research and development of the technology.
A public-private partnership was launched with shipbuilding and shipping along with the technology industry.
According to the ministry, this system is designed to achieve IMO Level 3, meaning the ship can operate autonomously without crew onboard. Operations will be conducted fully by remote control.
Demonstrations of the latest version of the technology started in 2023 aboard a smaller, domestic ship, Ocean Nuri (69 tons).
The plan calls for the Pos Singapore to undertake its first demonstrations on an international route beginning in September 2024.