Press Release

14 November 2025

Tokyo - ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for “Safety Berthing/Unberthing Assistance System” developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., and granted its Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions to the “Berthing and unberthing Assistance System-Human Machine Interface”. ClassNK has also confirmed that the “a-SAFE” notation (BSS)*¹ -Berthing Support System, which indicate ships with advanced safety measures, can be applied to ClassNK-registered vessels equipped with Berthing and unberthing Assistance System-Human Machine Interface.

ClassNK is involved in various demonstration projects and continuously works to develop necessary safety standards, in order to support the development and implementation of automated/autonomous operation technologies from a safety perspective. Based on these experiences, ClassNK released its “Guidelines for Automated/Autonomous Operation of ships (Version 2.0)" which comprehensively summarizes the requirements for each stage of conceptual design, design development, installation, and maintenance during the operation of automated/autonomous operation technologies.

For the concept design of “Safety Berthing/Unberthing Assistance System”, ClassNK conducted its safety review based on the requirements of “Guidelines for Automated/Autonomous Operation on ships (Ver.2.0)” and “Part D of Rules for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships”. Having confirmed its compliance with the requirements, ClassNK issued the AiP.

Furthermore, for the “Berthing and Unberthing Assistance System – Human Machine Interface,” ClassNK has granted an Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions*², which supports the deployment of products and services through third-party certification for equipment and software technology with innovative functions.

For more details on the overall system, please refer to the video linked below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R26F7krHxs

*¹ For more information on a-SAFE”, please refer to the "Guidelines for Advanced Safety Measures."
Guidelines for Advanced Safety Measures.

*²Details on Innovation Endorsement are available on the following page of the ClassNK website:
https://www.classnk.or.jp/hp/en/activities/techservices/dgd2030/iea/index.html

Image of “Berthing and unberthing Assistance System-Human Machine Interface”
(courtesy: Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd)




Approval in Principle (AiP):
At the initial stage of designing or before the specific target ship to be implemented is decided, the design is examined based on the existing regulations such as international conventions and ship classification rules, and an Approval in Principle (AiP) is issued as proof of conformity with requirements. It also prevents rework of regulatory aspects in the post-process, shortens the examination time at the time of class registration, and can be used as a technical basis for external appeal of the design status. For more information, visit our  website.

For inquiries about this press release:
ClassNK Technical Solution Department
Tel: +81-3-5226-2042
E-mail: tsd@classnk.or.jp

For media-related inquiries:
ClassNK Public Relations Team
4-7 Kioi-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 102-8567 Japan
E-mail: eod@classnk.or.jp

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