South Korea’s maritime sector has launched a joint AI data platform project to support the development of autonomous vessel technology.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) started the Autonomous Ship AI Data Platform Project with 25 participating organizations, including shipping companies and shipbuilders. The participants have agreed to share operational data and collaborate on the initiative.
The project will run until 2029 with a total budget of about $23.9 million. Public funding accounts for around $20.7 million, while private investment totals about $3.2 million.
The platform is intended to collect and analyse real-world operational data from vessels at sea. The data will be used to train Artificial Intelligence models for autonomous functions, including collision avoidance, route optimization, and equipment failure prediction.
Park Dong-Il, Industry Policy Office Director at MOTIE, said the quality of data will be a key factor in the competitiveness of future Korean autonomous ships. He also called for active data sharing among participating companies to build a strong data bank.
The Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) will manage the technical implementation of the project. KRISO will collect 100 types of data across eight core sectors, including navigation, engine systems, remote control, and digital twins.
The government plans to organize and standardize the collected data so that both large and small shipbuilders can use high-quality datasets for AI development.
Kim Hye-Jeong, Director of the Maritime Logistics Bureau at MOF, said autonomous ships are closely linked to the shipping and shipbuilding sectors’ shift toward decarbonization and digitalization. She also noted that operational data from the project will support responses to international standards.
The project is connected to a wider Korean government program worth about $400 million for fully autonomous navigation technology. That program is being carried out with domestic maritime stakeholders, with the first basic plan for autonomous ship development and commercialization expected in 2026.
