Samsung Heavy Industries is racing to bring crewless, autonomous ships to market next year in a bid to end years of losses suffered in a relentless price war with Chinese rivals.
The company has made strides toward that goal in recent months. In October, a 38-meter vessel featuring Samsung Heavy’s autonomous sailing system successfully completed a trial at sea, traveling about 10 km one way. The ship was not steered by anyone aboad and was only monitored by a control center 250 km away.
The race to develop “smart” vessels is heating up amid an industry shake-up. Companies in Japan, China and South Korea are responsible for 90% of shipbuilding in the world, but the cutthroat competition has undermined leading