Hyundai Glovis charts new waters with world’s first AI-driven self-sailing car carrier fleet

South Korea’s Hyundai Glovis Co. is poised to become the world’s first shipping company to deploy artificial intelligence-based autonomous navigation systems on its fleet of car carriers in a bold move that could reshape the future of maritime logistics.

The logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group has signed a deal with Avikus Co., a subsidiary of HD Hyundai Co. specializing in autonomous vessel technology, to install the systems on seven of its pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) by the end of the first half of 2026, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The initiative represents a significant technological leap in the commercial shipping sector, where autonomous systems remain at the early stages of deployment.

Hyundai Glovis, better known in the West as Glovis, plans to equip each of the seven vessels, including the 7,000-vehicle capacity Sunrise, with Avikus’ Level-2 Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS) platform.

While not fully unmanned, the system allows partial remote control and real-time AI-driven route optimization, which could translate into reduced fuel consumption and improved operational efficiency, sources said.

“An autonomous ship is particularly effective for PCTCs, which operate on long-haul, point-to-point routes linking Asia to Europe or North America,” said a source at Hyundai Glovis. “We plan to expand the use of autonomous navigation across more vessels once the benefits are proven.”

The Sunrise, 229.9-meter-long, 32.2-meter-wide and 36-meter-high, will be the world’s first to feature such AI-driven capabilities, sources said.

Hyundai Glovis mainly handles vehicles made by Hyundai Motor Group’s two automaking units – Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. – for overseas shipments. The firm also counts Volkswagen AG and other global carmakers among its clients.

IN CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH HD HYUNDAI

The venture reflects a growing collaboration between two of Korea’s largest industrial conglomerates, Hyundai Motor Group and HD Hyundai, which trace their lineage back to the original Hyundai empire founded by Chung Ju-yung.

While Glovis and Avikus belong to different groups, their tie-up signals a deepening convergence of automotive logistics and maritime tech, sources said.

Rather than develop its own proprietary autonomous shipping technology, Glovis opted to adopt Avikus’ tech called HiNAS – a strategic decision that accelerates time-to-market availability and taps into Avikus’ fast-maturing autonomous capabilities.

The collaboration will initially focus on deploying HiNAS to seven vessels, including the Glovis Sky, Sonic and Safety – each with similar vehicle-carrying capacities.

With Glovis currently operating a fleet of 92 PCTCs, industry officials expect the number of autonomous ships to increase in the coming years.

Though Japanese and European rivals, such as NYK Line and Norway’s United European Car Carriers (UECC), have experimented with AI-powered route optimization tools, industry experts say Glovis is the first to implement an integrated autonomous navigation system across multiple car carriers.

“While competitors have added what amounts to smart navigation, Glovis is effectively giving ships the ability to make decisions and optimize performance on their own,” said a shipping analyst familiar with the project.

FROM PROTOTYPE TO PIONEER

Launched in 2020 as an in-house startup within HD Hyundai, the successor to Hyundai Heavy Industries, Avikus has rapidly ascended the ranks of global maritime tech players.

It made headlines in 2022 when an LNG carrier equipped with Avikus’ Level-2 autonomous navigation system, in partnership with SK Shipping, completed the world’s first transatlantic crossing.

Since then, it has signed deals with several Korean shipping firms, including Sinokor Merchant Marine Co. and H-Line Shipping Co., and has now turned its focus to developing Level-3 capabilities, allowing full unmanned remote control, with plans to reach full AI autonomy, Level 4, by 2027.

Glovis, for its part, sees autonomous shipping as central to its long-term transformation into a smart logistics solutions company.

The company has pledged to invest 9 trillion won ($6.5 billion) across logistics, shipping and new business lines by 2030.

Write to Jung-Eun Shin and Sang-Hoon Sung at newyearis@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.