A poster for the Forum on Advancing Maritime Supply Chains and Proactive Policy Response [Korea Maritime Promotion Corp.]
A poster for the Forum on Advancing Maritime Supply Chains and Proactive Policy Response [Korea Maritime Promotion Corp.]

Korea Maritime Promotion Corp. will publicly unveil for the first time an AI-powered early-warning system designed to detect maritime supply chain risks before they escalate. The system is intended to help the government and industry get ahead of growing uncertainty in global supply chains driven by Middle East conflicts and intensifying US-China strategic competition.

The state-run maritime agency said Thursday it will present the development roadmap and key features of the AI-based maritime supply chain monitoring and early-warning system at the "2026 Forum on Advancing Maritime Supply Chains and Proactive Policy Response," to be held Wednesday at the Grand Ballroom of Asti Hotel in Busan.

At the core of the system is an AI engine that analyzes a wide range of data — including conditions at maritime choke points that vessels must pass through, international developments and shipping market trends — to detect early warning signals of supply chain disruptions. The goal is to enable the government and businesses to respond swiftly when risks emerge.

About 100 supply chain experts are expected to attend the forum, including officials from government agencies and public institutions, as well as representatives from the shipping, port, logistics and financial sectors and from universities and research institutes. Korea Maritime Promotion Corp. and the Korea Maritime Institute plan to sign an MOU to strengthen maritime supply chain competitiveness.

In the keynote presentations, Jo Ji-seong, a researcher at the Korea Maritime Institute, will examine how shifting conditions in the Middle East are affecting global supply chains, in a talk titled "Post-Hormuz: Response Strategies for Shipping and Logistics Supply Chains." Lee Jae-hyeok, a researcher at LS Securities, will assess the impact of supply chain disruptions on financial markets and industry as a whole.

A panel discussion moderated by Woo Su-han, a professor at Chung-Ang University, will bring together experts from HMM, public institutions and academia to discuss how the shipping and logistics industry should respond to the reshaping of global supply chains and how to strengthen supply chain resilience. Proposals for building public-private cooperation frameworks and upgrading maritime supply chain monitoring capabilities are also expected.

"Global supply chain risk is a core challenge that determines the competitiveness of our national economy and industries," Korea Maritime Promotion Corp. President Ahn Byeong-gil said. "We will continue to upgrade our maritime supply chain monitoring systems and deepen cooperation with related agencies and industry to strengthen Korean companies' capacity to manage supply chain risks."


adastra@heraldcorp.com