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.