Lloyd’s Register has granted Approval in Principle to Navantia’s AI-based Digital Twin Ready framework, giving naval operators and ship managers a clearer route for deploying machine learning systems on board complex vessels. The approval centres on condition monitoring and digital health management, areas where shipowners and managers are seeking reliable data for maintenance and operational planning.
Digital twins are more common across commercial shipping, but their use in naval operations has remained limited because of the complexity of onboard systems and the operational risks involved. That is beginning to change as shipbuilders and classification societies work to establish governance and assurance frameworks for AI-enabled systems.
This week, Lloyd’s Register granted Approval in Principle to Navantia for its AI-based Digital Twin Ready framework. The approval followed an assessment of Navantia’s development, governance and validation processes for digital twins using an air-cooling system digital twin developed for naval applications.
The framework is designed to support machine learning-based condition monitoring and digital health management systems across future naval programmes. According to the report, the air-cooling system digital twin uses data-driven algorithms and machine learning models to analyse sensor data, monitor system behaviour and identify early signs of abnormal performance.
This development comes as operators seek more dependable ways to use vessel data for maintenance planning, equipment reliability and operational oversight. Classification approval also remains a key requirement as digital systems become more integrated into daily vessel operations.
Javier de Juana, Naval Business Director at Lloyd’s Register, said: “As digital twins move from development to operational deployment, robust governance and independent assurance are becoming increasingly critical to ensure confidence in data driven technologies used on board complex naval platforms. This AiP demonstrates how those technologies can be assessed in a structured and repeatable way.”
Ana Moya, Chief Technology and Digital Transformation Officer (CTO) at Navantia, said: “The assessment carried out by Lloyd’s Register validates the maturity of Navantia’s digital twin framework, particularly in areas such as data governance, model validation and lifecycle management. This provides a solid basis for applying AI enabled digital health systems to operational naval platforms.”
