Samsung Heavy Industries has successfully completed a transpacific voyage using its in-house developed autonomous navigation system, underscoring the growing race among Korean shipyards to lead in AI-driven shipping technology.
The Samsung Autonomous Ship (SAS) system was fitted to Evergreen Marine’s 15,000 teu containership, which sailed from Oakland to Kaohsiung between August 25 and September 6. Over the 10,000 km route, SAS carried out 104 optimal guidance operations and 224 automated control interventions, fusing radar, GPS and camera inputs to manage engines and rudders without crew involvement.
Samsung Heavy said the system analysed weather every three hours, automatically adjusting route and speed to secure on-time arrival while cutting fuel burn. “SAS has evolved from an autonomous navigation assistance system for collision avoidance to a level where it maintains economical speed on its own and meets arrival times,” noted Lee Dong-yeon, head of SHI’s Shipbuilding and Offshore Research Institute.
The builder first launched SAS in 2019 and is now extending trials with Evergreen, with an eye on fine-tuning route optimisation to further lift fuel efficiency. Samsung sees the technology as a key plank in meeting shipping’s twin demands of punctuality and lower emissions.
The demonstration highlights how shipbuilders are moving from prototype to commercial-scale trials of AI navigation. Rival HD Hyundai has already staged similar demonstrations of its autonomous navigation platform on transoceanic passages, signalling that the contest between Korea’s two shipbuilding titans is accelerating.
