On the occasion of the opening of MSC 100, the IMO issued a short film reviewing its basic activities in the area of shipping safety. IMO’s MSC 100 started for its milestone 100th session on 3 December, with a busy agenda encompassing maritime autonomous surface ships, fatigue guidance for seafarers, polar shipping, goal-based standards and other agenda items.
Rolls-Royce announced that in collaboration with Finferries presented the world’s first fully remote and autonomous ferry. The ferry is part of the Project SVAN (Safer Vessel with Autonomous Navigation), which tests the findings from the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications (AAWA) research project.
Maritime UK has launched an updated version of the industry Code of Practice for autonomous ships. The updated version adds new guidance on the operation of autonomous ships, with a particular focus on skills, training and vessel registration.
Technology concerning autonomous and unmanned vessels is under construction aiming to create the next generation of autonomous vessels for the commercial survey market. Partners signed a joint development agreement in order to create the future autonomous survey ships.
Wilhelmsen Ship Management has signed two agreements that will establish the operational and regulatory framework in autonomous shipping. The first agreement is about the rise of a safety management system, which is called “safety management system agreement”. Whereas the second one focuses on the development of future competence, called “competence agreement”.
UK government has funded a new study intended to identify future data requirements for autonomous shipping. Comprising partners as the UK Hydrographic Office, L3 ASV and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the study seeks to explore how navigational and wider geospatial data can be used to enable the safe navigation of smart and unmanned autonomous vessels.
The US Navy is seeking maritime industry’s input as it proposed a medium unmanned surface vehicle. The objective of this input is to examine if the industry is able to provide a solution within a certain time frame at an affordable cost. The MUSV should be 12 meters to 50 meters long.
In September, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute demonstrated a new use for its long-range autonomous underwater vehicles, detecting and tracking oil spills. MBARI engineers outfitted an LRAUV with fluorometers that can detect oil in water and the simulated an oil spill using non-toxic, biodegradable dye.
ICS published a new study regarding the potential effects of autonomous ships on the role of seafarers and the global shipping industry. The study indicates that there will be no shortage of jobs for seafarers, especially officers, in the next two decades, while there will be more jobs ashore that require seafaring experience.
Rolls-Royce and Intel revealed plans for collaboration on designs for sophisticated intelligent shipping systems to make commercial shipping safer. With a focus on safety, new ships will have systems with the same technology found in smart cities, autonomous cars and drones.
