Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday that it will demonstrate whether its remote autonomous navigation system can autonomously steer a large ship in August.

A 9,200-ton ship will be used to demonstrate the shipbuilder's remote autonomous navigation system known as Samsung Autonomous Ship, or SAS, the company said.

Mokpo National Maritime University will assess whether the system helps the ship navigate autonomously under remote control, Samsung Heavy said.

If Samsung Heavy succeeds in the demonstration, it will be the world's first shipbuilder to secure the remote autonomous navigation system for large vessels, the shipbuilder said.

In October 2020, Samsung Heavy said it successfully navigated its 300-ton remote autonomous ship in seas off Geoje Island, 398 kilometers south of Seoul, via a remote control system at a research center located in Daejeon, 250 kilometers away from the seas.

Samsung Heavy plans to commercialize its independently developed autonomous navigation system by 2022. (Yonhap)