SafeNav at KORMARINE 2025: Human-Centred Autonomy Meets Korean Shipbuilding

Oct 21

SafeNav is on the ground in Busan for KORMARINE 2025, Asia’s flagship marine, shipbuilding, and offshore exhibition. We’re here as part of Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP) cohort on Maritime Technologies, joining a select group of UK deep-tech companies led by Sarah Hildersley and Louise Hooker to explore partnerships across Korea’s world-class maritime ecosystem.

Why Busan, why now

South Korea is a powerhouse in commercial shipbuilding and a fast-moving hub for digital and decarbonised shipping. KORMARINE brings together shipyards, integrators, R&D centres, and fleet operators, exactly the stakeholders needed to accelerate trusted, human-centred autonomy at sea. It’s the right forum to validate real-world needs and align on deployment paths that work on today’s bridges.

What SafeNav brings

SafeNav is a COLREG-compliant Decision Support System (DSS): a “co-pilot” that fuses shipboard sensors and presents explainable, real-time manoeuvre advice to the Officer of the Watch. We’re designed for human-in-the-loop operations: the navigator stays in command; SafeNav enhances awareness, reduces cognitive load, and promotes earlier, fuel-aware decisions that avoid collisions and groundings.

Highlights we’re discussing in Busan:

Explainable COLREG advice with rule references, CPA/TCPA changes, and route implications shown clearly on the bridge GUI (and optional AR view).
Data Fusion & Perception: radar, AIS, GNSS/gyro, and optional vision/LiDAR inputs fused into a single tactical picture with confidence scoring.
PPM (Path Planning Module): generates early, rule-compliant detours, cross-checked against ENC/S-100 constraints (no-go, TSS) and fuel/time trade-offs.
Deployed for crews today: built for decision support on manned bridges; a natural stepping stone toward higher autonomy for USV/ASV programs.

Dual-use pathways: commercial & defense

Korea’s shipyards and naval suppliers are advancing autonomy and remote operations. SafeNav’s modular architecture fits dual-use scenarios:

Commercial fleets: retrofit-friendly DSS that improves safety, supports CII/ETS goals with earlier manoeuvres and fewer late, fuel-intensive corrections.
USV/ASV programs: the same rule-engine and perception stack supports remote operators, with clear explainability and assurance for test ranges and trials.

Collaboration we’re seeking at KORMARINE

System integrators & shipyards for bridge integration, HMI harmonisation, and yard-level option packages.
R&D partners for simulator trials, human-factors validation, and fuel-aware routing studies.
Fleet operators & navies interested in pilot installations (bridge DSS), USV/ASV trials, or training modules that standardise COLREG behaviour across crews and control rooms.

Meet us in Busan

Our CEO, Captain Jørgen Grindevoll, is on site this week, meeting shipyards, innovation partners, and fleet stakeholders. If you’re at KORMARINE and want to talk human-centred autonomy, certification-ready navigation AI, or joint trials, we’d love to connect.

👉 Message Capt. Grindevoll on LinkedIn to set up a meeting.

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About SafeNav
SafeNav delivers a certification-aligned navigation co-pilot that helps bridge teams make earlier, safer, and more efficient decisions, today. Designed for explainability and human-in-the-loop assurance, SafeNav is a practical path toward autonomy that works with existing ship systems and operational reality.