China has constructed the first test base for unmanned ships, which will start operations at the end of this year. The test base named Xiangshan Marine Scientific & Technological Port is located in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. The test base will establish an innovation platform for the design, research and testing of unmanned marine systems and intelligent equipment.
RoadLaunch, the private blockchain-based digital freight management platform is collaborating with the public blockchain logistics document transaction platform, CargoX, on a blockchain project in the first publicly available integrated product in logistics of this kind.
According to a recent economic forecast, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada said that automation will cut thousands of good jobs at marine terminal operations in British Columbia. This would cost millions of dollars from the provincial economy per year, the forecast notes.
The SAFIR consortium of partners conducted tests to the first simultaneous drone flights in Sint-Truiden DronePort, for among other things package deliveries, inspection flights and emergency situations. The Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU) chose SAFIR to demonstrate integrated drone traffic management for a broad range of drone operations in Belgium.
The Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources launched a network of drones to monitor strategic parts of Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea. The drones will monitor uninhabited, hard-to-reach islands and will boost China’s dynamic surveillance of the South China Sea.
The European Commission accepted Georgia’s request to join the EU LRIT Cooperative Data Centre. Georgia’s application was made in November 2017 and was accepted in March 2019, as the country meets all the criteria needed.
Inmarsat launched the ‘Trade 2.0: How Startups are driving the next generation of maritime trade’ report examining how startups in line with the technological development such as big data, AI and blockchain in the maritime industry, are bringing a new era and create a ShipTech market.
Several discussions see automation completely transforming the industry in the next 30 years, while others seem less convinced of a major reform. Our special ‘Smart Watch’ column is asking global experts to provide feedback on the following question: What will the ship of 2050 look like?
Our special ‘Smart Watch’ column sheds focus on the impact of automation and digitalization in the future of shipping. This time, we have asked global experts to provide feedback on the following question: Digitalization and automation: friends or foes? Are they going to help us to move forward?
The US Navy collaborated with the decommissioned USS Midway to trial an unmanned aerial vehicle as another tool in its inventory for the management of corrosion on its ships. The UAV captures ship imagery for a few minutes along its predetermined flight path.
