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The first ships to be classed with Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) cyber notations have been delivered to Global United in Korea. They were build by Hanjin Heavy Industries, in collaboration with Alpha Ori Technology.

The ships have been awarded the notation Cyber (AL-SAFE) certifying th[ds_preview]e autonomous systems onboard as safe. According to Lloyd’s Register this is the first real example of the digital transformation in shipping. The ships will operate in an autonomous mode for selected functions using cutting edge digital technology. The new cyber-enabled features allow crew to operate ships more efficiently. This is also the first example of a ship certified to stream data into a big data platform the classification society stated.

Systems are able to operate with a level of automation

The autonomous systems were enabled by Alpha Ori Technology with the purpose of several systems being able to operate with a level of automation onboard three vessels to varying degrees. The aim was to minimise human error and make the operation of ships systems safe and more efficient when running in autonomous mode. LR provided independent assurance services to the shipowner during these important first steps, with the objective of applying descriptive notation to the vessels in recognition of the work and certifying the systems as safe.

Elements of the navigation, cargo and machinery systems have been certified AL2, which means ‘systems provide on and off-ship decision support for operators’. This provides operators and shore-based support staff with instant access to operating data from these systems for monitoring and diagnostics through the cloud, with which they can make more informed decisions and respond to issues faster and more efficiently LR informed.

The Air Handling Unit has been certified AL3 which means ‘systems that operate autonomously, but with an active human ‘in-the-loop’’. The system continuously monitors operational information from fire and gas systems, cargo systems and navigational positioning systems and then uses this information to automatically adjust the unit’s operating parameters to maintain a safe and comfortable environment within the accommodation space.