BUSAN < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

(Busan = Yonhap News) Reporter Jo Jung-ho -- Korea Maritime & Ocean University (KMOU) is set to upgrade its maritime testing system for the practical verification of unmanned marine mobility vehicles in collaboration with domestic specialized marine companies.

KMOU announced on the 27th that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the 26th at the university headquarters, hosted by the Marine Unmanned Technology Education Center, to foster research and technical cooperation in marine mobility verification.

Three companies participated in the agreement: Oriental Precision & Engineering, a specialist in offshore cranes; Korea Ocean Industry, an expert in offshore structure installation; and EIRNC, a company specializing in civil safety and precision measurement.

Under the agreement, the participating organizations agreed to establish a sea-based testing infrastructure designed for the launch, recovery, and operation of unmanned systems. They also committed to jointly operating a support system for verification research in real sea environments.

While the use of unmanned vehicles has recently expanded in various fields such as marine surveys and offshore wind farm maintenance, the lack of infrastructure capable of supporting repeated tests in actual marine environments has been cited as a major obstacle to technology commercialization.

KMOU plans to create a test environment based on unmanned systems in the waters near its campus, providing a foundation for stable equipment mounting and operational testing. Based on this industry-academia cooperation, the university also intends to expand joint research in the marine mobility sector and develop practice-oriented education programs.

"Technologies for marine unmanned vehicles and marine mobility are key drivers of competitiveness for the future marine industry," said Ryu Dong-geun, President of KMOU. "This agreement will serve as a significant starting point to elevate the competitiveness of Busan's new marine industries by securing a foundation for real-sea verification."

ccho@yna.co.kr



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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (January 27, 2026)

** This article was translated from Korean.