CMA CGM, Bureau Veritas and SDARI Jointly Develop AI-Assisted Container Ship

en.Wedoany.com Reported - CMA CGM, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, and the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) signed a Joint Development Project agreement during SMM 2026 in Hamburg, Germany, to launch the concept development and feasibility assessment of an AI-assisted container ship.

The project will focus on digitalization, artificial intelligence, and onboard decision-support technologies, first identifying ship functions suitable for enhanced technical assistance, then screening options for detailed concept development. The three parties will assess the technical, safety, regulatory, and commercial feasibility of the relevant options and develop a Concept of Operations and Basis of Design, clarifying the division of responsibilities among crew, assistive systems, and shore-based support personnel.

SDARI is responsible for overall ship design, systems engineering, and intelligent ship technology development; CMA CGM is responsible for providing owner operational requirements, real-world application scenarios, and performance metrics; Bureau Veritas is responsible for classification, safety, regulatory, and risk assessment work. The design process will continue to retain crew oversight and control over critical operational aspects, with the development goal being not unmanned replacement but the use of AI and digital decision-support systems to assist onboard operations.

In the subsequent phase, the project will conduct safety and human factors assessments for the selected onboard functions and validate different operational scenarios under the Bureau Veritas risk assessment framework. After completing the detailed concept, the three parties plan to develop technical specifications, estimate project capital expenditure and operating costs, and formulate a further development roadmap, while applying to Bureau Veritas for Approval in Principle (AiP).