Orca AI has launched BerthView, a berthing assistance system built with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) that can be retrofitted to vessels already in service. It pairs Orca AI’s SeaPod digital watchkeeper with SVISION, SHI’s berthing assistance system, so that AI-based situational awareness carries on from open water to the final stages of berthing.
Bridge teams get less time to assess what is around them as a ship nears port, with denser traffic and tighter room to manoeuvre. SeaPod uses computer vision to detect, track and assess targets and hazards from open water through coastal approaches. BerthView adds a perception layer for close-quarters, low-speed work: fisheye cameras on the bridge wings give a 360-degree bird’s-eye view of the ship, while visual distance guides and a virtual safety boundary show crews how much clearance they have from other vessels and quay walls.
The system also feeds navigational events into FleetView, Orca AI’s cloud-based safety and fleet operations platform. Shore teams can use that data to spot recurring risks, investigate incidents, support claims and build crew training from real operational events.
The launch follows the memorandum of understanding Orca AI and SHI signed in April 2026, moving the partnership from technology integration to a commercially available product. SHI’s autonomous vessel portfolio also includes SAS (Samsung Autonomous System), which handles automatic route updates and ship speed control for more economical voyages.
“This launch is an important step in turning our shared vision for autonomous shipping into a scalable commercial reality,” said Yarden Gross, CEO and co-founder of Orca AI.
Hyun Joe Kim, Head of SHI’s Research Institute, framed it as a matter of integration. “Autonomous shipping will be built by integrating advanced technologies into the vessel as one intelligent system,” he said.
Orca AI is headquartered in London and says more than 2,000 vessels operate with its platform, with customers including Maran Tankers, MSC, Seaspan and NYK.
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