South Korea has launched a container ship to boost autonomous maritime operations. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the ship is the first oceangoing vessel for Level Three autonomous shipping.
The first autonomous shipping test with this ship is planned for later this year.
On Friday, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. hosted the vessel’s christening ceremony. The 1800-TEU vessel was named Pos Singapore. According to industry insiders, Pan Ocean Co. will receive it before the end of this month.
The order for this ship was placed in 2022. It is 172 meters (564 feet) long and registered in Liberia. The 22,200 DWT container ship will be handed over to its owner, who will furnish it and test the autonomous system.
The South Korean government stressed autonomous ships as the primary goal of the Advanced Maritime Mobility Development Strategy, which was released in 2023. The autonomous shipping project was initiated in 2020, with the government providing over $120 million for research and development of these technologies.
South Korea has tried various autonomous systems in recent years. In 2022, Hyundai completed the world’s first commercial ship transoceanic journey employing autonomous navigation technology. The system was deployed on the 97,500 DWT LNG Carrier, which covers over 11,000 nautical miles in the Pacific.
The trials for the latest version of this technical system began in 2023 onboard the Ocean Nuri, a rather small ship weighing 69 tons. Pos Singapore plans to perform its first trials on an international maritime route in September 2024.