The article discusses the purpose of smart and autonomous ships as well as the technologies and services necessary for efficiency in the context of the recent investments in this field by the South Korean Government and compliance requirements with International Maritime Organization (IMO) environmental regulation. South Korea is one of several nations that have embarked on an autonomous ship project seeking to boost the domestic eco-friendly and smart shipping industry. Already being home to one of the largest ship-building industries worldwide, one of the key objectives for the nation is to achieve a 50% global market share by 2030. In this context, the article looks at how shipbuilders and manufacturers are seeking to innovate by enabling newbuilds to comply with IMO environmental regulation drawing using information and communication technology (ICT), and more advanced services and shore support. The article goes on to discuss advanced shore services and e-navigation. It explains the technologies necessary to achieve advanced shore services and fluent information exchange between ship and shore. Finally it explains the key role of cybersecurity in the projects under consideration.