South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has decided to form a global research and development (R&D) alliance focused on the development of innovative shipbuilding technologies.
The alliance will enable DSME to strengthen competitiveness in the area of eco-friendly and smart ship technologies.
On 22 June, DSME revealed it will team up with four universities, five vessel quality assurance and risk management companies and five research institutes.
Specifically, the consortium will comprise Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Seoul National University, University of Michigan, University of Strathclyde, American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Lloyd’s Register (LR), Bureau Veritas (BV), DNV, SINTEF Ocean, SSPA, CNR, KRISO and HSVA.
As explained, the consortium aims to jointly respond to environmental regulations related to the shipbuilding and offshore industries and the latest technologies such as autonomous vessels, especially core technologies in the field of fluid dynamics. The partners will also collaborate on joint research projects.
With the recent economic recovery of the global shipbuilding and offshore industries and the increase in demand for eco-friendly high-tech ships, the need for new technology development is rapidly increasing. Therefore, the level of R&D for various shipbuilding technologies needs to be further raised in addition to the existing shipbuilding capabilities and experience, DSME added.