- Introducing Korea’s technology development status and polices at the Autonomous Shipping in Asia and the Pacific International Conference, hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister Kang Do-Hyung) will participate in the Autonomous Shipping in Asia and the Pacific International Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 28th (Wednesday) and 29th (Thursday), to introduce the development progress and status of demonstration and regulatory innovation on autonomous shipping technology in Korea.

 Autonomous vessels refer to ships that can navigate the ocean with a minimum number of crew members or without any human intervention. Designated as a core initiative of the Advanced Maritime Mobility Development Strategy announced in November 2023 by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, autonomous vessels are expected to bring about a systemic (paradigm) shift in the shipbuilding, shipping, and logistics sectors.

 The upcoming conference is organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) to discuss commercialization of autonomous ships in the Asia-Pacific region. Autonomous ship experts from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and many other countries will present and discuss their ideas. Each country plans to share the current status of its autonomous ships and discuss how to further develop the shipping sector leveraging autonomous ships.

  With respect to autonomous vessels, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been developing core technologies for autonomous remote operations (IMO Level 3) that do not involve human crew on board since 2020 through its Autonomous Ship Technology Development Project. The technology has been tested on a small demonstration ship (Ocean Nuri, 69 tons) since 2023. There are further plans in the second half of this year to test the technology on a 1,800 TEU container ship through public-private collaboration to demonstrate its operations on international routes. With the Autonomous Navigation Ship Act tabled for enactment early next year (January 2025), the Ministry will be able to support smoother demonstration operations and technology development through special regulatory provisions.