Biggest European shipbuilders collaborate on vessel connectivity

April 17, 2019 - The biggest European shipbuilders have announced a new cooperative initiative to develop and demonstrate a connected vessel platform. This project is named Code Kilo. In order to meet the digitalisation challenges of a diverse audience of stakeholders, in a robust, secure and cost-effective way, EUROYARDS members (Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Damen Shipyards Group, Fincantieri, Lürssen, Meyer Werft, Naval Group and Navantia) joined forces to harmonise data management solutions and standards. This new, ambitious project will seek for the full cooperation and engagement of all maritime stakeholders, including shipowners, shipbuilders, suppliers and classification societies, and it is supported by SEA Europe, the Shipyards’ and Maritime Equipment Association. Ship systems currently provide large amounts of data related to equipment status, ship operations and performance. The overall purpose is increasing the opportunities to reuse, combine and gain values and insights from data. This will allow the operator, the yard and equipment suppliers to optimise their respective activities. Enhancing the vessel digitalisation through fully-fledged integration will contribute to achieving the sustainability and circularity goals at the core of the European maritime sector. European shipbuilders are, therefore, committed to applying their knowledge of physical system integration to improve digital integration, aiming at establishing the base for future business opportunities with IoT, Big Data and AI. In this respect, the cooperation of all the stakeholders, including customers, classification societies and suppliers is essential for the success of the project.