ABS, HD Hyundai join forces on AI-backed smart shipyard vision

Classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and South Korea’s shipbuilding major HD Hyundai Samho, part of HD Hyundai Group, have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled smart shipyard project.

As disclosed, the agreement sets up a cooperative framework for both parties to use smart technologies, like AI, automation and robotics, to explore areas for process improvement at the HD Hyundai Samho yard. ABS has said that it will use its “Guide for smart technologies for shipyards” in the review process.

“Advanced technologies are transforming shipyard operations and opening new avenues for progress. Intelligent systems show promise for elevating health, safety and quality standards, driving efficiency and innovation in contemporary shipbuilding,” Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, highlighted.

Shedding further insight into the development, Hwan-Gyu Kim, HD Hyundai Samho Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, added that it was ‘high time’ to sharpen interest in vessel construction automation and digitalization processes as well as in AI and data-driven decision-making.

Kim added that any digital transformation enabled by artificial intelligence “will not be achieved without appropriate collaboration” through which the ‘right’ solutions and strategies could improve the future of the sector.

Smart shipyards, which integrate digital technologies (particularly AI, machine learning, IoT, digital twins, automation and big data analytics), have emerged as a solution that could aid in optimizing design, construction, logistics and operational processes with minimal human intervention where possible.

Specifically, advantages of exploring this digital momentum include reduced delays, minimized material waste, lower energy consumption, predictive maintenance and safety improvements, et cetera.

As understood, smart technologies also carry the potential to help shipbuilders meet stricter environmental regulations by improving energy efficiency in production as well as by allowing for ‘greener’ designs.

With modern vessels becoming increasingly complex (alternative fuels, hybrid propulsion, novel navigation systems), traditional methods tend to struggle to handle this complexity efficiently. Major shipbuilding nations, namely, China, South Korea, Japan, and increasingly India and Europe, have been locked in fierce competition within this landscape.

In South Korea, in particular, numerous maritime industry players have set their sights on digitalization. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI), for instance, kickstarted the Future of Shipyard (FOS) project.

As informed, the initiative has been in development since 2021 and it endeavors to ‘boost’ automation and reduce human intervention. FOS is anticipated to be wrapped up by 2030, by which time it could improve productivity and cut shipbuilding time by what is estimated to be 30%. HD HHI has reportedly also rolled out the Twin FOS virtual yard platform, which is said to offer insights into production progress and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission status, among others.

In March 2023, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) developed SBOT, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot intended for ship design to retrieve regulatory, drawing and contract information. SHI had also signed a MoU a few months before that with French software corporation Dassault Systèmes to engineer a “smart yard” based on new digital transformation technology.

What is more, in November 2023, ABS teamed up with South Korea’s vessel construction heavyweight Hanwha Ocean to push forward digitalization efforts in the sector. As divulged at the time, the bipartite initiative would investigate solutions linked to smart yards and smart ships with a focus on safety, cyber resilience, autonomous, remote-control and smart functions developed by the latter company.

More recently, namely in January last year, HD HHI also announced a joint development project (JDP) with Finnish maritime software companies NAPA and CADMATIC to create a ‘next-generation’ vessel design and information management solution, which would also embed a product lifecycle management (PLM) system.