The ultra-large, 180,000cbm LNG carrier, Prism Courage, has sailed autonomously between the Gulf of Mexico and Korea, a world first achieved by Avikus, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai (former Hyundai Heavy Industries Group).
The project was a collaboration between SK Shipping and Avikus, with ABS and the Korea Register of Shipping verifying the performance of the technology: HiNAS 2.0, Avikus’ Level 2 autonomous navigation solution.
The Prism Courage departed from the Freeport on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico on May 1, passed through the Panama Canal, and arrived at the Boryeong LNG Terminal in South Chungcheong Province in Korea after 33 days. The vessel sailed autonomously for about half of the roughly 20,000 kilometre voyage.
HiNAS 2.0 determines optimal routes and speeds based on Hyundai Global Service’s Integrated Smartship Solution. Its artificial intelligence recognises the surrounding environment – weather and wave heights – and nearby ships, and then controls the vessel’s steering commands in real-time. The Level 2 technology can control and operate the ship in addition to the functions of recognition and judgment. The system accurately recognized the locations of nearby ships to avoid collision about 100 times.
In this test crossing, the use of the technology resulted in an increase in efficiency of around 7% while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 5%.
Avikus plans to commercialize HiNAS 2.0 this year after receiving a certification from ABS for the results of the ocean crossing.
Autonomous navigation technology is drawing attention as an innovative technology for future maritime mobility, solving workforce shortages in the maritime transportation industry, reduce pollutants, and improve safety by completely removing the possibility of human errors.
