The American Bureau of Shipping Grants Approval for Hanwha Ocean’s New Cyber Technology for FPSO Units

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) classification society recently awarded approval in principle (AIP) to South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean for their innovative cyber technology aimed at enhancing the safety of floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units.

In collaboration with SIGA Data Security, Hanwha developed an operational technology (OT) cybersecurity solution specifically tailored to safeguard critical OT systems from cyber threats, thereby bolstering the overall cyber resilience of FPSO units.

ABS’ Senior Vice President of Global Offshore, Miguel Hernandez, emphasized the significance of this partnership, stating, “As connectivity in offshore assets improves, so do cyber risks. This new OT solution offers operators a means to address vulnerabilities in their critical operations systems.”

According to Hanwha, this OT cyber solution is part of a broader offshore technology collaboration agreement with ABS. The collaboration encompasses projects in sustainability, digitalization, artificial intelligence, and operational technology cybersecurity.

Philippe Levy, President of Offshore at Hanwha Ocean, expressed his company’s excitement over this milestone. He believes that the AIP not only strengthens Hanwha Ocean’s competitive edge in FPSO bids but also highlights their commitment to innovation and operational resilience in offshore settings.

Levy further added, “Our partnership with ABS and SIGA allows us to offer cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions that ensure enhanced process-level visibility, real-time threat detection, and effective remote operational oversight, all in compliance with stringent offshore industry standards and segmentation architectures.”

Just over two months ago, Hanwha received another AIP from ABS for their advanced hull monitoring system. This system is designed to assess structural damage to ships and offshore assets during operation.