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SK Shipping and Sinokor sign up for autonomous technology

South Korean shipowners SK Shipping and Sinokor Merchant Marine are taking autonomous shipping to the next level, investing in advanced kit for 23 large vessels, including containerships and LNG carriers.

Avikus, a subsidiary of shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries, has become the first autonomous navigation software company to sell so called Level 2 autonomous navigation solutions in the world, installing Hyundai intelligent Navigation Assistant System (HiNAS) 2.0 on a variety of big Korean ships from next year.

HiNAS 2.0 is an autonomous control technology added to the Level 1 autonomous navigation solution developed and commercialised by Avikus in 2020.

It enables a vessel to handle various unexpected situations by, for example, controlling the speed or changing direction to avoid a collision and returning to the route once the obstacle is gone.

The Level 2 autonomous navigation solution can also come up with the best and safest route based on accumulated marine-related and sailing data and minimise fuel consumption by automatically controlling the engine output of the vessel.

Avikus claimed success this June with the world’s first transoceanic voyage of a large merchant ship relying on autonomous navigation technologies. In partnership with SK Shipping, Avikus equipped the 2021-built 180,000 cu m LNG carrier Prism Courage with HiNAS 2.0 that allowed a successful autonomous operation over 10,000 km between the US and South Korea.

“In the future, we will strive to equip all large ships in the world with HiNAS 2.0 by obtaining approvals from various shipping groups and countries,” said Avikus CEO Lim Do-hyeong.

Similar autonomous breakthroughs have taken place in China, Japan, and Norway. Most recently, China’s first autonomous containership was put into operation by Shandong Port Group on a short-sea route between Dongjiakou and Qingdao in eastern Shandong province. Last November, the world’s first fully emission free autonomous container vessel, Yara Birkeland, completed its maiden voyage in the Oslo fjord. 

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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