Abicus to Verify Economic Feasibility and Eco-Friendliness of 'World's First' Autonomous Ship

Pan Ocean, Korean Register, and Others
Sign MOU for Hynas 2.0 Fuel Saving Demonstration

Avikus, a ship autonomous navigation specialist company under HD Hyundai, signed a memorandum of understanding for joint research on fuel savings and greenhouse gas reduction verification of 'HiNAS 2.0' with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Pan Ocean, POSSM, and Korean Register (KR). Photo by HD Hyundai

Abicus, a ship autonomous navigation specialist company under HD Hyundai, is set to verify the fuel-saving effects of autonomous ships for the first time in the world in collaboration with shipping companies and authorized institutions.

Abicus and Hyundai Heavy Industries recently announced on the 16th that they held a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony for joint research to verify fuel savings and greenhouse gas reduction of ‘HiNAS 2.0’ with Pan Ocean, Pan Ocean’s ship management subsidiary POS SM, and Korean Register (KR).

HiNAS 2.0, developed by Abicus, is an AI-based autonomous navigation system that fuses information provided by various navigation equipment and sensors to guide and control ships to operate on optimal routes and speeds. When ships operate on optimal routes and speeds, fuel consumption is reduced, improving economic efficiency, and greenhouse gas emissions are lowered, minimizing environmental pollution.

Through this joint research, Abicus and participating companies will apply HiNAS 2.0 to a 325,000-ton class ultra-large cargo ship starting in August. Based on actual ship operation data over one year, the fuel-saving effects and corresponding greenhouse gas reduction performance will be verified. The participants expect to demonstrate approximately 7% fuel savings through this demonstration.

Pan Ocean and POS SM will provide the demonstration ships and data and review the feasibility of the demonstration process. Hyundai Heavy Industries and Abicus will jointly develop a fuel-saving verification framework through data analysis. Korean Register will be responsible for evaluating and technically reviewing the developed fuel-saving verification framework.

Lim Dohyung, CEO of Abicus, said, "This project is significant as it is the world’s first to quantitatively verify the fuel savings and carbon emission reduction effects of autonomous navigation based on actual operation data. We will continue to develop technology so that autonomous navigation can practically help not only improve ship safety and convenience but also enhance fuel efficiency and respond to environmental regulations."

Pan Ocean President Ahn Jungho said, "This will be a meaningful study that can confirm the improvement of ship operation efficiency and carbon emission reduction through autonomous navigation technology. We expect it to greatly contribute to achieving Pan Ocean’s declared 2050 carbon neutrality."

Lee Hyungchul, Chairman of Korean Register, said, "By establishing a proactive response foundation to strengthening decarbonization regulations, this will be an opportunity to further enhance the competitiveness of the related industry. We will actively participate in and support research on applying digital and decarbonization technologies to help customers operate ships efficiently."

Meanwhile, Abicus successfully completed the world’s first autonomous ocean crossing of an LNG carrier in June last year, recording a 7% improvement in fuel efficiency and a 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at that time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.