MRC Inc. the First in Korea to Acquire International Certification for Marine Radar

Amid fierce competition between countries to build autonomous ships, which is believed to be the future of the shipbuilding industry, Busan-based marine communication equipment manufacturer MRC Inc. has laid the foundation to accelerate the localisation of autonomous ships by developing Korea's first ship radar and obtaining internationally recognised certification.

MRC announced on the 18th that it received the European MED certification for its ship radar from the Norwegian classification society DNV, the world's most authoritative classification organisation, at the end of last year. This achievement is seen in the industry as equivalent to a Korean pharmaceutical company obtaining FDA approval in the United States.

Although Korea holds the world’s number one shipbuilding technology, the navigation and communication systems, considered the software of shipbuilding, are dominated by products from Japan and Europe, such as Germany. Currently, even government ships like fishery guidance vessels in Korea are equipped with Japanese radar systems. This reliance on foreign systems undermines the competitiveness of Korean shipbuilders striving to construct autonomous ships integrated with advanced technologies.

MRC, which has been specialising in marine communication systems in Busan for 63 years, has focused on developing core technology for digital ship communication systems and autonomous ships for the past four years, leveraging its specialised research personnel in the shipbuilding ICT sector. Seeing potential, MRC successfully commercialised its product through a national R&D project secured in collaboration with the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), Ulsan ICT Promotion Agency (UIPA), and HD Hyundai Marine Solutions, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai, in 2021.

To obtain international certification for the ship radar, long-term performance testing at sea was essential. With full support from the UIPA, testing was conducted using the Ulsan Taehwa. After rigorous testing under adverse maritime conditions such as strong winds, sea fog, and high waves, the radar system proved its capability to detect nearby ships, assess collision risks, and provide accurate navigation information to navigators.

Leveraging its development and certification of ship radar, MRC recently signed an MOU with HD Hyundai Marine Solutions to develop and commercialise an Integrated Navigation System (INS) based on ship radar and ship navigation.

MRC's research director, Park Min-sik, stated, “This agreement is a prime example of technological collaboration between large corporations and SMEs to promote the localisation and commercialisation of ship systems. Suppose the two companies succeed in jointly developing an integrated navigation system and receiving international certification. In that case, it will contribute significantly to increasing the localisation rate in Korea’s ship operation and navigation system sector.”

Founded in 1961 as “Marine Radio Co., Ltd.” in Yeongdo, Busan, MRC first localised ship communication equipment in 1990, when Japanese products dominated the market. Since then, it has grown beyond Korea to become the world’s leading manufacturer in this field, supplying products to ships worldwide.