Tag: autonomous ships

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, announced that signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rolls-Royce, in order to collaborate on research and development to explore the impact of developments in autonomy for cargo ship navigation and cargo systems onboard container ships. This aims to lay the groundwork for the development of autonomous container ships.

In the future, autonomous ships may have a central role to play in Blue Denmark. In cooperation with the DTU, the Danish Maritime Authority has developed a pre-analysis that is intended as an inspiration for possible projects that may support the development of autonomous ships.

Rolls-Royce will establish its Marine R&D Centre for Remote Control & Autonomous Ships and Artificial Intelligence in Turku, Finland. The centre will be opened this year. This is the latest stage in company's research and development plans to make remote and autonomous shipping a reality and reap the benefits of increasing digitalisation in the marine industry.

Mr Willy Zeiler highlighted that e-Navigation is central to delivering tomorrow’s technology, but its powerful benefits can be exploited today. Using data as a facilitator, it simplifies tasks, reduces workloads, enhances safety and environmental performance, and delivers real economic advantages for the industry. Autonomous vessels are a natural step forward for the discipline, with connected, digitized ships that perform with optimal efficiency, safety and security.

Rolls-Royce anticipates that the first commercial vessel to navigate entirely by itself could be a harbor tug or a ferry designed to carry cars the short distance across the mouth of a river or a fjord and that it or similar ships will be in commercial operation within the next few years.

DNV GL and the MPA Singapore have renewed a memorandum of understanding aiming to promote research and development (R&D) and innovation in the maritime industry. Given the growing need to create safer and more efficient solutions for the maritime industry, this renewed MOU will have an expanded scope to include the R&D of intelligent shipping systems.

SAFETY4SEA conducted ‘Share your Smart Shipping Insights’ survey during Q4 2016 and assessed how maritime stakeholders have realized the current and future smart shipping challenges and have established the nature of ECDIS & e-Navigation, Cyber Safety/ Cyber Security, Autonomous Shipping and Future Trends within shipping.

Bjørn Kjærand Haugland, EVP & Chief Sustainability Officer DNV GL, says that autonomous shipping is a now a reality. The technology is in place and the time has come to move more operations ashore. Instead of having a crew of 15 sailing in a storm in the North Sea, people can stay in a control room on shore, where the same person could monitor and steer many ships.

The US Navy said that autonomous unmanned swarmboats were demonstrated in the Lower Chesapeake Bay with results that show dramatic new possibilities for autonomy in future naval missions.

Autonomous vessels are set to be a reality in the future, but work on them is well underway in the present. Here Willy Zeiler, NAVTOR Marketing and Communication Manager, outlines how e-Navigation will help turn an ambitious concept into reality.