Hamburg
German city-state and Europe's third-largest port, a centre of shipbuilding and aircraft assembly
Hamburg's SMM shipbuilding fair hosted the memorandum, announced on 10 September 2026, in which DNV and the yard Fassmer agreed to seek approval in principle for crewless naval and government ships.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026
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Mentioned in: DNV and Fassmer aim to class robot ships
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
At SMM, the city's shipbuilding fair, the classification society DNV and the shipbuilder Fassmer agreed a memorandum, made public on 10 September 2026, that seeks approval in principle for crewless naval and government ships. SMM is held every two years at Hamburg Messe.
Hamburg is Germany's second-largest city, with more than 1.9 million people, and one of its three city-states. Its port is Germany's largest and Europe's third-largest, after Rotterdam and Antwerp. Airbus assembles A320-family aircraft at Finkenwerder as well as in Toulouse, under a single type certificate.
Hamburg also builds warships. The Blohm+Voss yard became part of Rheinmetall's Naval Systems division when Rheinmetall completed its purchase of Naval Vessels Lürssen on 1 March 2026.