The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources joined forces to develop autonomous ships to maintain K-shipbuilding's overwhelming competitive edge. The shipping and shipbuilding industries also joined in.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) held the "Autonomous Ship M.AX Alliance Strategy Meeting" on the afternoon of the 29th at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. About 100 people from around 50 institutions, including shipping, shipbuilding, and AI corporations, universities, and research institutes, attended the meeting.
MOF and MOTI have pushed the first phase of autonomous ship technology development and achieved significant results, including successfully conducting verification on international routes. However, in the industry, there are calls that securing and sharing verification data for autonomous ships is needed as a core task for the second phase of development. In response, the government launched the "Autonomous Ship M.AX Alliance." The alliance name "M.AX" is a compound of Manufacturing + AI Transformation (AX).
At the meeting, the alliance presented the keywords "speed," "engagement," and "alliance" (SEA) as its vision. "It reflects the determination to develop and verify autonomous ship technology as quickly as possible and preempt international standards," a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official said.
In addition to MOF and MOTI, leading domestic shipping companies, shipbuilders, equipment makers, as well as universities, research institutes, and AI corporations such as Naver and KT are participating in the alliance.
MOF and MOTI also plan to fully push ahead with the "AI fully autonomous ship technology development" project, which was exempted from the preliminary feasibility study last month.
Within the alliance, concrete plans will be discussed for the scope, methods, and targets for securing autonomous ship data, and the results will be reflected in government-supported projects. The development outputs will be spread across the industry through standardization, platformization, and conversion to public data.
The Korea Shipowners' Association (KSA) and the Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association will form the "Shipping–Shipbuilding Co-prosperity Development Strategy Council" starting in the first quarter of next year. The strategy council plans to discuss autonomous and eco-friendly ship technology development, the development of the maritime cluster including the shipping, shipbuilding, equipment, and small and mid-sized shipbuilding sectors, and ways to cultivate specialized talent.
Minister Kim Jung-kwan of MOTI said, "Autonomous ships are a field where the M.AX strategy can deliver representative results, and if we combine the world's best shipbuilding technology with AI, Korea will lead the next-generation shipbuilding and shipping market."
Acting Minister Kim Seong-beom of MOF said, "Autonomous ships are a game changer that will transform the paradigm of the global shipping and shipbuilding industries," adding, "We will work closely with MOTI and actively support faster, tangible results."