Solent University and Rolls-Royce started a collaborative research and development project on Autumn 2016, to support the unmanned and partially autonomous operation of marine vessels. The project ended on Spring 2018 and focused on applying immersive technologies to enable the crew perform typical duties remotely.
Rolls-Royce signed an agreement to sell its Commercial Marine business, to Kongsberg, for £500m and net proceeds of around £350m to £400m. The sale includes propulsion, deck machinery, automation and control, a service network spanning more than 30 countries and ship design capability. Rolls-Royce’s Ship Intelligence activities, including remote and autonomous operation of commercial vessels, are also included.
Rolls-Royce and Finferries will develop strategies and solutions to improve safety and efficiency of marine operations by developing the technology for decision supporting systems and to demonstrate remote and autonomous ferry operations. The collaboration will consider a new research project, called Safer Vessel with Autonomous Navigation.
Rolls-Royce and French insurer AXA Corporate Solutions have signed a Letter of Intent to explore ways to bring a new offering to the marine market, utilising Rolls-Royce Ship Intelligence systems and equipment and AXA’s risk analytics capabilities. The products will be addressed to current sailing and future autonomous vessels.
Norwegian expedition cruise operator Hurtigruten and Rolls-Royce signed a Letter of Intent for an environmental upgrade programme to hybrid power. Namely, the main engines on up to nine cruise ships will switch from diesel to gas power, and will also have a hybrid battery system. Six existing passenger cruise vessels will be equipped, with an option for a further three.
The latest generation of MTU’s Series 4000 engines equipped with the SCR system for ships successfully completed the IMO Tier III certification tests. The engines now comply with the emission regulations in accordance with IMO MARPOL Annex VI, IMO Tier III. MTU’s SCR system is fully controlled, with real-time NOx measurement.
Rolls-Royce’s MAXCMAS research project found that the use of newly developed algorithms allowed existing COLREGs to remain relevant in a crewless environment, and that Artificial Intelligence-based navigation systems can comply with the rules to avoid collision effectively, even when approaching manned vessels were interpreting the rules differently.
A new situational awareness system has been launched, aiming to reduce the risks of navigation during night, in bad weather on congested waterways. To do this, the system uses sensors with intelligent software. The new system, will collect data, in order to ensure safe navigation.
SAFETY4SEA is pleased to announce that Rolls Royce Marine has received the 2018 SMART4SEA Technology Award at the prestigious 2018 SMART4SEA Awards Ceremony which successfully concluded on January the 30th, the evening ahead of the SMART4SEA Conference, at Yacht Club of Greece in Athens.
Jensen Maritime was ordered to design a new 100-foot, Z-Drive hybrid tugboat for Baydelta Maritime. The company will use Rolls-Royce hybrid technology and it will be the first hybrid tug designed by Jensen to enter the construction phase. The hybrid tug is planned to be delivered in the first quarter of 2019.
