HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding intermediate holding company of HD Hyundai, is expected to deliver the world's first ship equipped with an 'AI engineer', which will lead to the expansion of the autonomous ship market in the future.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering announced on the 24th that it recently delivered an 180,000-ton LNG-powered bulk carrier to H-LINE Shipping with an AI-based engine automation solution installed. The ship was built at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in Yeongam, Jeollanam-do.

The engine automation solutions jointly developed and installed by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and H-LINE Shipping are the Integrated Condition Diagnosis Solution (HiCBM) and the Integrated Safety Control Solution (HiCAMS).

Both solutions are intelligent systems that diagnose the status of major ship equipment in real time and automatically recognize emergency and sudden situations such as fire.

It acts as an AI sailor, replacing the engineer and deckhand when operating a ship.

HiCBM is a system that diagnoses and manages key ship equipment, such as propulsion and power generation engines, compressors, and pumps, in real time. It uses artificial intelligence to detect and prevent signs of failure during navigation, thereby ensuring operational stability. HiCAMS is a system that uses artificial intelligence to detect and analyze safety-related events in real time using onboard CCTV, and plays a key role in maintaining the safety of ships and crews.

Both systems can be applied to existing ships in operation, and the market for AI-based machine automation solutions is expected to expand.

The two systems, which were first applied this time, were verified for safety and reliability under the supervision of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) during the test run, and in September of last year, they received basic certification (AIP) for the two systems from ABS.

Last June, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering succeeded in crossing the ocean for the first time in the world by installing an autonomous navigation system on a large merchant ship through its affiliate Avicus. With the commercialization of this engine automation solution, we have come one step closer to the era of the world’s first ‘unmanned ship’ in the large merchant ship sector that can operate for long periods of time without the assistance of a navigator, engineer, or deckhand.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Managing Director Kwon Byeong-hun said, “The advent of the era of autonomous ships based on artificial intelligence and digital technology is inevitable,” and added, “Based on this engine automation solution, we will lead the development and commercialization of autonomous ship technologies in a comprehensive range, in addition to navigation automation.”