K Shipbuilding and ForceTEC have been awarded an AiP (Approval in Principle) by classification society Korean Register (KR) for vessel designs focusing on ship cyber resilience.
The design methodology has been created to meet the specifications of International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Unified Requirement (UR) E26, which aims to ensure the secure integration of both Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) equipment into the vessel’s network during the design, construction, commissioning, and operational life of the ship.
These requirements treat the ship as a collective entity for cyber resilience and cover five key aspects: equipment identification, protection, attack detection, response, and recovery. In a collaborative effort that began in January 2023, K Shipbuilding, ForceTEC and KR embarked on a joint research project aimed at applying and validating rules to meet these requirements ahead of IACS UR E26 becoming mandatory for vessels contracted for construction from January 2024.
Within the framework of this collaborative project, K Shipbuilding and ForceTEC undertook the design of the ship’s navigational communication system and engine control system, incorporating cyber resilience design elements and establishing a response system by formulating a basic test methodology, guided by a cyber risk management framework.
KR’s role was to verify the feasibility, safety, and suitability of the cyber resilience concept design, which resulted in the granting of the AiP.
“Certification of cyber resilience technology that meets the IACS rules is an important step to demonstrate the technology and reliability of K Shipbuilding. Being the first mid-sized shipbuilder in the world certified in this technology, we will provide safety-centred smart green vessels,” said Koh Taehyun, CTO of K Shipbuilding.
