News & Brochure

KR teams up with HD Hyundai to develop XR-based ship education and training program KR, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI), and HD Hyundai Marine Solution (HD HMS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a ship education and training program based on extended reality (XR) at HD HHI’s Digital Convergence Center (DCC) in Ulsan, South Korea.The companies have agreed to establish a virtual reality representation of ships based on 360-degree footage of actual vessels and 3D CAD models. They will also develop ship trial content to enhance crew education and training services utilizing this technology.HD KSOE plans to develop advanced maritime training content in collaboration with HD HHI by integrating its own digital twin solution, HiDTS, with KR’s ship familiarization education and training platform, KR-Real 360. Additionally, HD HMS is slated to provide the training content.KWON Byounghun, Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Research Lab at HD KSOE, expressed his expectations about the technology, saying: “Through the realistic ship education and training system developed in this collaborative effort, customers will be able to respond quickly to changes in onboard operating systems, such as digitalization and decarbonization.”KIM Daeheon, Executive Vice President of KR’s R&D Division commented:“It is meaningful for us to develop a solution applicable to shipyards and shipping companies, leveraging KR's capabilities in XR technology and HD Hyundai's expertise in ship designing and verification. We will further enhance our technical support for customers, enabling the proactive utilization of the latest digital technologies.”

KR launches XR-based ship familiarization solution, KR-Real360KR has officially launched “KR-Real360,” a 360-degree XR (eXtended Reality)-based ship education and training program that has revolutionized ship familiarization training methods.KR-Real360 has been developed to provide users with the educational information necessary for ship operation and maintenance using the latest XR technology. Users can effortlessly locate educational resources, such as operation manuals, survey data, and checklists, available in diverse formats including images, text, PDFs, and videos within the ship's virtual reality environment, crafted using 360-degree panoramic images.In addition, other convenient functions such as ship touring, XR-drawing matching, customized route setting and TTS(Text To Speech), which converts text to voice, are included, and they can be easily customized according to users’ convenience and preference.With the rapid pace of digitalization and decarbonization in the maritime sector, there is an increasing need for familiarizationtraining to keep pace with the constantly evolving onboard operation systems. It is expected that KR-Real 360 will be a useful tool to respond quickly to changes while significantly complementing the traditional ship education and training system.KIM Daeheon, Executive Vice President of KR’s R&D division, commented, “We tried to make KR-Real360 more real and vivid by showing the realistic appearance of ships. KR will work to provide the best technical support to assist the maritime industry in applying the latest technologies promptly in line with the digitalization and decarbonization trends.”Information on KR-Real360 can be found on the KR SeaTrust website (https://www.seatrust.kr).

KR-CON v.21: Updated Solution for Finding and Accessing the Latest IMO Regulations Korean Register (KR) has released the latest updated version of KR-CON (v.21), its comprehensive digital database of almost all the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) instruments. With continued success since its launch in 2000, KR-CON has been regularly updated to ensure that the database program contains the latest IMO instruments. Users can easily access the IMO documents in the program, and quickly find relevant regulations for a specific vessel. This is one of the reasons why the program has been particularly valued and widely used by flag administrations and maritime companies worldwide. In the 21st version of KR-CON, the user interface (UI) design of the mobile application and the icon design of the KR-CON website have changed to improve customers’ understanding of the functions in the program.Additionally, a new function has been added that allows the user to easily locate previously downloaded PDF files by maintaining a download history within the mobile application.LEE Jungkun, the General Manager of KR's Convention and Legislation Service Team said, “We have reorganized the UI of the 21st version of KR-CON to make the user environment more intuitive and improve user convenience. We will continuously work to advance the program to meet customers’ needs and requirements, and make it even more user-friendly.”The new KR-CON includes the contents of the 32nd Assembly of the IMO held in 2021 and 2022,as well as the amendments of SOLAS and MARPOL adopted by the 106th Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and the 78th Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).The database will be continuously updated to reflect any revised documents adopted in the future.KR-CON is available via the website, mobile application, USB and a web installation version for offline use. Further details can be found on KR’s main website (www.krs.co.kr) and KR-CON website (krcon.krs.co.kr).

KR signs MOU with Microsoft Korea to Collaborate on Digital TransformationLEE Hyungchul, KR Chairman and CEO (left) and LEE Jieun, Microsoft Korea CEO (right) at the MOU signing ceremonyKorean Register (KR) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Microsoft Korea on 28 March to collaborate on digital transformation and enhance their technological capabilities, with the aim of leading the digital transformation of the shipbuilding and maritime industry by leveraging fourth industrial revolution technologies. Through this partnership, a joint working group between the two companies will be established to collaborate on digital transformation projects. It will focus on Cloud Conversion technology, artificial intelligence (AI) technology development, and digital workplace platform upgrades based on Microsoft Azure.Microsoft's Azure cloud is one of the most widely used cloud providers in the industry, with 95% of Fortune 500 companies implementing digital transformation initiatives using Azure. In Korea, Microsoft offers cloud services with high performance, fast speed, safety, and a high level of security.Currently, digital transformation through the application of fourth industrial revolution technology is recognized as a global hot topic across industries, and its necessity and demand are increasing. In line with this trend, the shipbuilding and maritime sector is actively applying cloud and AI technologies to achieve autonomous operations and improve ship safety.KR has proactively pursued ‘digital and green’ initiatives in recent years to become a ‘leading digital classification society’. Through the new partnership, KR will be able to provide digital survey services with AI and stable infrastructure to KR customers.“We plan to implement cloud technology in our system and introduce innovation in our offices by activating digital workplaces to improve productivity and create a flexible work environment. KR also plans to develop AI technology to actively respond to the global market competition in the maritime industry,” said LEE Hyungchul, KR Chairman & CEO.“By collaborating with Microsoft Korea, we will lead the digital transformation of the shipbuilding and marine industries together,” he added."We have led innovative changes in various industries in Korea through Microsoft's global technological competitiveness, cloud Azure-based artificial intelligence technology, and modern workplace services," said LEE Jieun, CEO of Microsoft Korea."We will fully support KR to lead digital innovation in the industry through cooperation,” she added.

New KR GEARs, Updated with Real-time CII Monitor, CII Simulator and ETS Calculator, Enables Easier and Faster CII Rating Prediction The newly upgraded GHG Emission Authentic Reporting system (KR GEARs) enables maritime stakeholders to more easily ensure compliance with greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations in a shorter period.Launched by Korean Register (KR) in 2019, KR GEARs has been supporting shipping companies and operators to efficiently manage their fleet's GHG emissions data and remain compliant with tightening GHG regulations. Updated key features include a new real-time CII monitor, CII simulator, ETS calculator and advanced SEEMP Part III & CII, EU/UK MRV services.At a seminar jointly organized by KR and Korea Shipowners’ Association and supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on 9 February, the newly upgraded features of KR GEARs were presented to maritime stakeholders in Korea.Previous KR GEARs could calculate the CII rating based on approved DCS data. However, the new CII Monitor uses real-time operational data, allowing the CII rating to be derived and managed in real-time.A new CII Simulator feature automatically calculates and predicts the ships’ CO2 emissions and CII reduction effects, allowing shipping companies to manage their fleets more flexibly. Scenarios and reports are generated as each condition is selected, such as sailing speed, fuel type, operational measures and installation of energy-saving devices.Another highlighted new feature of KR GEARs is the Emissions Trading System (ETS) Calculator. Users can predict the ETS costs by simply entering vessel information and ETS unit price. KR plans to expand the service in the near future by integrating carbon spot and futures market information into the system to easily calculate estimated ETS costs in real-time.KIM Daeheon, Executive Vice President of KR R&D Division said:"The new upgrade of KR GEARs will enable our customers to respond quickly and flexibly to ensure compliance of their existing vessels. We will continue our efforts to advance our technologies to support the decarbonization of the maritime industry."Beginning on 1 January this year, the CII framework regulates the operational carbon intensity of a vessel and how efficiently a ship operates at sea. Vessels are given a rating based on the grams of CO2 emitted per cargo-carrying capacity and nautical mile.More information of KR GEARs can be found from its official website (https://gears.krs.co.kr/) and KR website(https://www.krs.co.kr/). The image shows the official KR GEARs website.