Japanese classification society ClassNK announced the signing of a partnership agreement with German service provider TÜV Rheinland to collaborate in jointly developing and delivering a cyber security certification scheme for the maritime industry, in order to further ensure the safety of vessels.
Cyber threat poses an increased risk to the maritime in the last months, especially on the aftermath the major cyber attack that hit the world’s largest container ship company, Maersk, in June 2017 and with the latest cyber breach reported in Australian defense shipbuilder Austal this month.
In this context and under the agreement, ClassNK will first team up with TÜV Rheinland to work on the cyber security guidelines that target onboard software currently being developed by the society. This partnership will also bring efficient and pragmatic cybersecurity certification services to meet the maritime sector’s needs.
Earlier, ClassNK and TÜV Rheinland built a cooperative relationship through the signing of partnership agreements in 2012 for wind turbine certification and in 2015 for test and product certification.
A recent survey by maritime law firm Jones Walker on several leaders and managers representing the US maritime industry last month revealed a false sense of cyber security preparedness in US maritime, with small and mid-size companies being far less prepared.
Digital transformation is changing the way that business is conducted and offering more opportunities, while cyber security is an essential factor to its promotion and adoption in the maritime industry,
… noted ClassNK President and CEO Koichi Fujiwara.
