According to One Sea’s press release, three major industry players joined One Sea boosting the future of autonomous ship technology in the maritime sector. Specifically, Inmarsat and MIT (Monohakobi Technology Institute) joined One Sea as full members, whereas RINA, the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to become an associate member. The three additions were announced during Nor-Shipping conference.
Päivi Haikkola, One Sea Lead commented
We are delighted to welcome the largest global provider of ship-to-shore connectivity, the R&D arm of one of the largest shipowners in the world and the industry’s leading professional body for naval architects as members.
NYK and its Group companies MTI Co., Ltd. and Japan Marine Science Inc. (JMS) have already been working with nautical instrument manufacturers to develop highly automated ship navigation technologies, with a tugboat test for NYK company Wing Maritime Service Corporation scheduled for H2 2019.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) envisages autonomous ships operating in Japan by 2025.
Inmarsat VP Business Development, Stefan Poli, commented:
Inmarsat is joining One Sea in recognition of the special value it sees in initiatives that adopt a targeted and goal-based approach to autonomous shipping and its beneficial technologies. One Sea is emerging as a strong voice on interoperability and standards that the wider industry is listening to.
Moreover, Ms Päivi Haikkola added that One Sea was honoured to sign an MoU with RINA.
One Sea has already as members ABB, Kongsberg Maritime and Wärtsilä, who all conduct autonomous ship trials off the Finnish and Norwegian coasts at the end of 2018.
Members have complete freedom to innovate and develop their own cost-efficient autonomous ship solutions inside an alliance which is nonetheless committed to harmonizing technical standards
… Ms Haikkola added.
She concluded that One Sea’s expectation is that, as member numbers grow, operating solutions will multiply but members will also work towards integration. The new members would bring different perspectives and insights to the One Sea ecosystem.
