HMM opens fleet control center for efficient operation of smart ships

SEOUL -- To gain the upper hand in the era of smart and eco-friendly ships, HMM, a major shipping company in South Korea, has opened a comprehensive fleet control center for the safe and efficient real-time monitoring of smart ships built or ordered by the creditor-controlled company. It can remotely control ships in operation.

The fleet control center, established at the research institute of HMM in the southern port city of Busan can identify risk factors in advance by acquiring real-time data on ship location, port information, fuel consumption, weather conditions and cargo loading status.

HMM, formerly known as Hyundai Merchant Marine, said that the control center is capable of sharing electronic charts, speed, direction and wind speed. For quick decision making in case of a crisis, It can check the status of engines and generators and identify situations that occur outside of ships through CCTVs. The company would use collected big data to develop autonomous ships.

HMM has placed orders for 20 large container ships built with advanced IT technology. "In the future, the shipping industry will accelerate competition for safe operation and cost reduction through the introduction of new IT technologies," HMM CEO Bae Jae-hoon, adding smart IT system would be gradually applied to other HMM ships.

South Korean shipbuilders work hard to develop smart ship technologies as new regulations will increase the preference for digital total solutions that support efficient navigation systems. Smart shipping can be divided into unmanned ships ruled by an operator from a control center onshore and autonomous ships that use a computer on board that takes decisions about the route, speed, fuel consumption, maintenance and even mooring in the harbor.

Smart ships are expected to revolutionize the landscape of ship design and operations as they can minimize human errors that caused about 70 to 80 percent of marine accidents.