Korean Register Launches New Guidelines to Promote the Use of Digital Simulations for Ship Efficiency Testing

BUSAN, Jakartaweekly.com – Korean Register (KR) has begun promoting the use of digital simulations based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to measure ship energy efficiency. The initiative comes through the issuance of new guidelines developed jointly with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI).

The guidelines, titled Numerical Calculation Guidelines for the Determination of the Attained EEDI, were prepared as an alternative to conventional physical model testing methods that have long been used to verify ship energy efficiency.

KR Executive Vice President Kim Daeheon said the new standards are expected to help the maritime industry respond to international regulatory demands while accelerating digital transformation in the shipbuilding sector.

“Through this joint development, we have established advanced technical standards that enable the maritime industry to proactively respond to international regulatory requirements,” Kim Daeheon said on press statement, Tuesday, Mei 19, 2026.

According to him, growing regulatory pressure from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has prompted the shipping industry to adopt various energy-saving technologies, including air lubrication systems and wind-assisted propulsion systems.

Until now, the performance of such technologies has had to be proven through physical model testing using scaled ships in towing tanks or wind tunnels. The process has been considered both time-consuming and costly.

Through the CFD approach, computer simulations are used to calculate water and air flow around a ship’s hull with greater precision. The technology is believed to accelerate ship design and testing processes, although simulation results still depend on the analysis conditions and system settings used.

As a result, KR has established more consistent and objective verification standards to ensure the reliability of CFD-based calculation results.

Under the new guidelines, the procedure for determining the EEDI reference speed (Vref) is divided into three stages: qualification, validation and calibration, and main computation. KR has also set analytical methodologies and reporting standards to maintain the reproducibility of simulation results.

One of the key points in the guidelines is the inclusion of detailed modeling requirements and classification verification criteria to evaluate the performance of air lubrication systems and wind-assisted propulsion systems. These areas had not previously been fully addressed under existing IMO or International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) guidelines.

KR stated that the guidelines were developed by combining practical design experience and performance data from real ship projects owned by HD HHI and SHI. The move is expected to improve the efficiency of classification approval processes while reducing design and analysis time at shipyards.

Going forward, the use of CFD-based digital simulations is expected to become increasingly important in the development of environmentally friendly vessels as demands for energy efficiency and carbon emission reductions continue to rise in the global shipping industry.