AI to fix 'same ship, different name' errors in port data

A competition challenging participants to develop AI solutions for a persistent port data problem — the same vessel being registered as multiple different ships due to inconsistent name spellings, differing technical specifications, or mismatches between Korean and English entries — will open this week. Top algorithms developed by participants will be put to practical use in cleaning actual vessel information databases.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ulsan Port Authority announced Tuesday that the AI Technology Competition for Solving Port Problems will be held online from Wednesday through Nov. 2.

This year's theme is developing AI-based solutions to resolve discrepancies in vessel information records — a challenge drawn directly from issues raised at working ports.

Even for the same vessel, different reporters may record the ship's name and specifications in slightly different ways. Korean and English spelling variations can cause the same ship to be recognized as two separate vessels. Such inconsistencies can introduce errors into port statistics collection and vessel history tracking.

Participants will analyze accumulated vessel data in various formats and develop AI matching algorithms that account for multiple variables. Industry and academic experts will then verify and evaluate the accuracy of submitted algorithms and assess their originality and quality to select the final winners. Standout ideas will be used in future vessel information data-cleaning projects.

High school students, university and graduate students, and unemployed youth within three years of graduation — both domestic and international — are eligible to enter. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will introduce a minister's award this year for the first time.

The inaugural competition last year drew 1,210 participants around the theme of predicting the routes of vessels entering Ulsan port.

Kim Hye-jeong, director general of the ministry's maritime and logistics bureau, said the competition this year selected a practical problem reflecting real voices from the port floor. "We hope this competition will serve as a platform for discovering talent to lead problem-solving at ports through AI technology and drive digital innovation in the shipping and logistics sector," she said.