Shipbuilding heavyweight China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and DNV classification society have established a Future Ship Joint Innovation Centre in Shanghai.
The centre will enable the duo to cooperate on ship and offshore field technical innovation, advance in decarbonization and digitalization transformation, and provide technical support and solutions to the maritime industry.
The centre will be established and operated by SDARI and DNV China following the Strategic Cooperation Agreement Framework signed by CSSC and DNV in 2019.
The centre aims to set up three joint work groups on decarbonization, digital twin/digital ship, and smart shipping, focusing on developing future-proofed vessel holistic solutions to advance green and smart shipping innovations.
“The establishment of this Centre is an important step for a deepened strategic cooperation between CSSC and DNV, China and Europe. Additionally, the mutual trust and advantages gained will pave the way for an in-depth technical exchange between SDARI and DNV China, accelerating research on green and intelligent shipping technology towards global maritime transformation,” CSSC’s Vice President Sheng Jigang said.
“I would like to thank CSSC and SDARI for their support and cooperation in establishing the centre. It is a key milestone in our bilateral collaboration and will advance the strategic cooperation between our two groups to a new level,” said DNV Maritime CEO Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen . “
DNV will support the Centre with its full global expertise. Together we will work to ensure it will become a model for the maritime industry’s proactive response to decarbonization and digital transformation.”
Separately, DNV announced that it will acquire cyber security company Nixu, headquartered near Helsinki. Nixu employs around 400 cyber security specialists in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Romania.
DNV has become the majority shareholder of Nixu, and in the coming months, following a process to de-list Nixu from the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange, the duo will combine DNV’s existing cyber security services business, Nixu, and Applied Risk – an industrial cyber security specialist acquired by DNV in 2021 – to create one of cyber security powerhouse.