A test bed has been established to verify autonomous ships, raising expectations that commercialization of remotely controlled ships without crew members will occur in the near future.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister Lee Chang-yang) announced on the 3rd that it has completed construction of a performance verification center to promote full-scale autonomous ship verification projects.

The center will develop core technologies, such as navigation and engine automation systems required for autonomous navigation, and serve as a land-based control center for verification of the autonomous maritime test vessel that was built last June.

As the center is completed, autonomous ship demonstration equipment will be built in stages starting in the second half of this year, and full-scale demonstration is expected to be possible once equipment construction is completed in the second half of 2023.

The center was established as part of the 'Autonomous Ship Technology Development Project' jointly promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the project will invest a total of KRW 160.3 billion from 2020 to 2025.

Autonomous ships are high value-added ships of the future that integrate elements of the 4th industrial revolution, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI), and their market is expected to expand to approximately KRW 180 trillion by 2025.

Autonomous ships can recognize and judge various maritime environments on their own and search for optimal navigation routes, thereby increasing economic efficiency, and enhance safety by preventing accidents caused by human error in advance. />
Major countries such as Europe and Japan are also promoting their own demonstration projects to develop technologies for commercializing autonomous ships, and have begun developing regulations centered around the International Maritime Organization to enable international navigation.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Industrial Policy Bureau Director-General Joo Young-joon said, “The upcoming shipbuilding market, which is undergoing a digital transformation such as autonomous ships, is a new opportunity for our shipbuilding industry with technological competitiveness. We will strive to commercialize autonomous ships (IMO Stage 3) that can be operated remotely without crew members on board by 2026.”