KR Certifies First Cybersecurity Compliant Ship

Classification society Korean Register (KR) has completed a comprehensive cybersecurity survey of the chemical/oil tanker Songa Hawk and certified the ship to be fully compliant in all areas.

As a result, the Marshall Islands-flagged Songa Hawk has become the very first ship to achieve this type of certification.

The 13,300 dwt vessel is part of Songa Shipmanagement’s fleet. Songa manages and operates eighteen chemical/oil tankers and five semi-submersible vessels. The company signed a five-year cybersecurity contract with KR in 2018, covering its fleet of 23 vessels.

KR conducted a cybersecurity audit of Songa Shipmanagement and certified the company to be fully compliant in all areas in 2019, the first company to achieve this.

Two years on from the original contract, Songa Hawk has now been certified as ship cybersecurity compliant by KR, successfully passing the inspection of 81 items in eighteen categories including risk management, asset management, technical security and incident response and recovery.

With this certification, Songa Shipmanagement and Songa Hawk are said to satisfy the international cybersecurity requirements as outlined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Tanker Management and Self-Assessment (TMSA) and Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE).

KR will now inspect the other ships in Songa Shipmanagement’s fleet, testing their compliance, with a view to issuing further ship cybersecurity compliance certificates.

“As the shipping industry becomes more and more digitalized, so cyberattacks on shipping companies and ships have increased. An effective response and comprehensive cybersecurity preparedness is now essential for any maritime organization,”  Park Kae-myoung, head of KR’s Cyber Certification Team, commented.

In 2021, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Resolution MSC.428 (98) will enter into force, which will increase demand for company and ship cyber risk management services.

Based in Busan, South Korea, KR currently classes an international fleet of 3,050 vessels totaling 68 million gross tons.