The Japanese classification society ClassNK has launched ‘Survey Compass’, an AI-based assistant for ship-related surveys. The system is designed to support shipping companies and ship managers in preparing for and addressing classification issues.
This is intended, in particular, to make it quicker to find information on applicable requirements. According to ClassNK , the reason for this is the increasing complexity of regulatory requirements, including those relating to the environment. For shipping companies and ship management firms, this increases the effort required to identify the requirements relevant to a particular ship or a survey.
AI draws on source documents
The ‘Survey Compass’ searches through documents relating to classification surveys and uses them to generate a summarised response. Links to the sources used are also displayed, enabling users to verify the information. As the classification society explains, it employs a so-called retrieval-based approach: The responses are intended to be based on the source documents found in each case. In this way, the classification society aims to reduce the risk of erroneous information generated by AI, known as ‘hallucinations’. The final technical assessment of the information remains the responsibility of the users.
At launch, the database includes, amongst other things, Part B of the ClassNK Rules for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships, guidance on conducting surveys, and technical information.
Further sets of rules are to follow
ClassNK intends to further expand the scope of the system based on the experience gained during the beta phase. In future, international conventions and the requirements of individual flag states, amongst other things, are to be incorporated into the system. Furthermore, there are plans to link ‘Survey Compass’ with vessel-specific data. This should enable answers to be tailored more closely to the specific vessel in question and its situation.
The AI assistant is available via the “ClassNK Customer Hub – Ship in Service” portal. Customers who already use the NK-SHIPS online service can log in using their existing credentials. Among other things, NK-SHIPS provides information on the survey status of individual ships, as well as upcoming survey and audit dates.
The ‘future’ also takes centre stage at the ‘Maritime Future Summit 2026’
The Maritime Future Summit (MFS), which will also take place at SMM 2026 in Hamburg, will address the growing role of generative AI in shipping – in particular its impact on ship design, operation and fleet efficiency. The event will take place on 2 September as an open-stage conference on the exhibition floor. The focus will be on practical applications such as digital twins, smart classification, autonomous systems and large language models. The summit will be moderated by Volker Bertram from the World Maritime University and HANSA Editor-in-Chief Michael Meyer. You can find more information about this year’sMaritime Future Summit (MFS)here.
