- ABS-KATS MoU targets smart vessel, shipyard standardization via workshops.
- Enhances certification, conformity for South Korean manufacturers.
- Builds on HD KSOE, Hyundai partnerships; boosts AI, automation in shipbuilding.
The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance the international standardization of smart marine and shipyard technologies. Their partnership is a great example of how shipbuilding, vessel maintenance, repair, and overhaul can be enhanced in the future by both parties agreeing to exchange the latest information through joint workshops and seminars to invigorate global standardization and simplify certifications for South Korea-based equipment manufacturers.
The pact will create a conformity assessment system to help officials determine whether international requirements are met and accordingly grant easier access to various markets for novel technologies. The co-operation symbolizes the increased enthusiasm that has been felt in the South Korean smart shipyard projects where the use of electronic tools for delaying, material wasting, and energy consuming has been the trend together with enhancing safety through predictive maintenance.
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The examples of the situation in South Korea are major shipbuilders such as HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI), HD Hyundai Mipo, and HD Hyundai Samho which are the leaders of the transformation. In September 2025, the said companies made a choice of Siemens Industry Software and Aviva as their main collaborators for the "design and production integration platform" to establish smart shipyards. Earlier in June, HD Hyundai Samho collaborated with ABS on the integration of AI-powered smart shipyard solutions featuring automation and robotics.
A month prior to that, ABS and HD Hyundai Mipo entered into a joint development project (JDP) for digital manufacturing-based automation equipment. Nor this MoU is less than a milestone of technological innovation in maritime industries thanks to the alliance between the US and South Korea, an initiative in tune with world-wide trending of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly shipbuilding sectors generating a $150 billion market by 2030.