In order to enhance the application of advances information flow in the maritime industry, the classification society Korean Register (KR) has launched a new information communications technology Center (ICT).
The »high-tech facility« has been launched in response to demand from[ds_preview] the Korean shipbuilding and marine transport industries, keen to be more competitive in a challenging market, IACS member KR said in a statement. It seeks to address the fact that advanced onshore technologies have been difficult to adapt for maritime applications, because of the poor communication environment at sea and unique attributes of ships.
In line with the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s e-Navigation strategy, the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries launched a SMART-Navigation project last year, which will run from 2016-2020 with a budget of 114 million USD.
As a member of the SMART-Navigation project team, KR is conducting research and development into leading technologies as a basis for new international maritime standards. Initially KR’s new ICT Center is working to develop new advanced technologies for maritime Big Data, e-Navigation, ship cyber security and software quality assurance.
Lee Jeong-Kie, Chairman and CEO of Korean Register said: »The launch of KR’s new ICT Center supports the Korean Government’s SMART-Navigation project. Our specialist resources, expert skills and industry knowledge will accelerate the application of advanced technology to improve operational efficiency, dramatically reduce human error and help the industry to manage risk better.« It would help to deliver high quality expert ICT services tailored to the business needs of our customers, which will in turn then benefit the industry and the IMO’s E-Navigation strategy, he added.
The ICT Center will focus on finding ways to apply big data to operate vessels more efficiently, to identify safe navigation routes in real time, to understand accident statistics and manage risk better and to predict ocean characteristics, while CBM (condition based monitoring and maintenance) can be used to alert vessels to device failure.
According to the Korean Register, its center is also developing new software test standards in line with ISO 25000, to verify the quality of IT software (naked eye and functional tests no longer being adequate) and will soon be able to offer its clients comprehensive software test services.
Today, KR classes an international fleet of 3,046 vessels totaling 6,970 million GT.
