The autonomous vessel technology has seen an advance lately, due to increased investment. In a recent article, the Shipowners’ Club makes an attempt to outline the actions that have been made in regard to autonomous vessels and those that are planned to happen.
Such funding has made possible more autonomous designs to be realised and there is a distinct possibility that in the future.
Namely, the Club says that autonomous and remotely operated vessels will be desirable to ship owners as the use of such technology is expected to reduce operating costs, increase vessel efficiency and enhance the level of safety on board.
However, it must be highlighted that autonomous technology still requires a degree of human influence. It is still possible that incidents will still occur as a result of the human element originating from shore based control and monitoring in the form of the vessel operators/controllers.
Albeit these developments, there are certain challenges that must be overcome.
Firstly, the challenge of social acceptance among those in the industry who do not consider unmanned vessels as a safer alternative.
Secondly, the new technology must comply with current IMO conventions.
The IMO has added unmanned vessels to its agenda in order to determine whether it is possible to operate unmanned vessels in compliance with existing regulations, or whether new legislation is needed to ensure operators conform to the expected safety, security and environmental standards within the maritime industry.
In order for unmanned vessels to be used widely, many of the practical elements of ship operations are realised, such as:
- Navigation and interaction with manned vessels, especially in high traffic density.
- Mooring operations and the development of port infrastructure to provide reception services and support for unmanned vessels.
- Manoeuvring in close quarters to other vessels where there is limited sea room, for example in ports.
- Arrival at and departure from port and interaction with Pilots and VTS services.
- Cargo work and the interaction with shore stevedores where there are no crew to oversee operations.
- Apportioning liability in the event of an incident.
For the development of this technology many programs have been set up, amongst which the following:
- Trondheim fjord has been designated by the Norwegian Maritime Authority and Norwegian Coastal Administration as a test area for unmanned vessels making it the first of its kind in the world.
- The first high profile trial is to come as the result of a partnership between Bourbon, Kongsberg and Automated Ships Ltd.
- The Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications (AAWA) is a collective of universities, designers and manufacturers who are focused on developing an autonomous vessel in conjunction with the ship operators Finferries and ESL Shipping.
- Plymouth University, MSubs and Promare are working collaboratively on the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project which incorporates green energy as well as autonomy.
Not only universities are working on such programs. In fact, independent designers and shipbuilders, such as ASV Global, already have unmanned autonomous vessels in operation.
The vessels are working on research and survey projects, cooperating with offshore vessels which act as the mother ship. This allows them to develop their technologies in a controlled manner with the support of a manned vessel and technicians which remain close by, in case that a problem ocurres.
With this attempts, the new technologies will be understood better and the may lead to retrofit remote operating and autonomy systems to existing vessels, Shipowners’ Club noted.
Furthermore, the technology of autonomous vessels can be used as a form of navigational aid for watch keepers, where the immediate environment can be analysed and a series of possible scenarios or navigation solutions will be presented to the seafarer responsible for maintaining a navigational watch.
Finally, Maritime UK has published an Industry Code of Practice for Maritime Autonomous Systems Ships (MASS), which has been compiled by Members of the UK Maritime Autonomous Systems Working Group (MASRWG), in order to guidance for unmanned vessel design, construction and safe operation.
This guide has been prepared by the working group to assist the industry and compliance is not mandatory, as the formal regulatory framework is still being developed.
You can see further details about the report below
