Autonomous Ships - A reality by 2030

China’s first smart ship, Great Intelligence, was presented this week at Marintec China 2017, Shanghai which hosted revelations of several innovative ship design concepts. Great Intelligence, a 38,800 dwt modified version of the Green Dolphin fuel-efficient bulk carrier concept, was  announced in 2015  as the first smart ship pilot project in China. The ship was designed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) and built at Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard Co. (GWS), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). Lloyd’s Register (LR), System Engineering Research Institute (SERI) and China Class Society (CCS) were also involved in the project. Great Intelligence features an intelligent navigation system which enables it to optimize shipping routes in order to reach the destination in shortest time and with minimal fuel consumption. The best routes are selected based on the data collected from ship and shore-based service stations. The

Norway has opened an autonomous shipping test bed in Horten on the Oslofjord, Kongsberg said. The test bed, officially opened on December 6, is the third of its kind in the country and the fourth such approved area in the world. Established to support the growth in the development of new solutions for autonomous maritime operations, the new area is open to both Norwegian and international organizations. As explained, the area is designed to be  “a convenient, safe, non-congested space to trial new technology and vessels.” The area is specially designated for autonomous trials by the Norwegian Maritime Administration and the Norwegian Coastal Administration. The initiative to establish the new test bed was undertaken by maritime technology company Kongsberg, the town of Horten, classification society DNV GL, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) and the University College of South East Norway. The introduction of the test bed follows the last year’s opening of

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has joined forces with Inmarsat under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), establishing a relationship to leverage the ‘smart ship’ connectivity offered by Fleet Xpress at the vessel construction stage. Under the deal, the South Korean yard would install Inmarsat-approved terminal hardware and applications to cover remote machinery diagnostics and CCTV services, to leverage the satellite communications platform’s capabilities from the moment the ship is delivered. The new service, which has been christened ‘Smart Ship’, will allow owners to enhance efficiency by harvesting data from hull-monitors and equipment sensors onboard in real-time. “This agreement with SHI represents a new chapter in the story of smart shipping and the connected vessel ,”   Ronald Spithout, Inmarsat Maritime President,  said. Subject to a definitive agreement, SHI will retain remote connections to vessels, while Inmarsat will support SHI’s services through a dedica

BMT’s Rembrandt simulator will be combined with ASV Global’s autonomous vessel control simulator A group of UK-based companies has started a new £1.2M (US$1.6M) research project to investigate how autonomous vessels could co-exist with manned ships. BMT has teamed up with ASV Global and Deimos Space UK for the Shared Waterspace Autonomous Navigation by Satellite (Swans) project. With funding from Innovate UK these companies will investigate how autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) can use existing and future satellite capabilities for collision avoidance and communications. This is particularly focused on autonomous vessels operating beyond the horizon of shore and in congested maritime traffic, BMT managing director Phil Thompson explained, adding that the few autonomous vessels already developed use the global automatic identification system (AIS) for collision avoidance. “But they remain at risk of colliding with vessels or objects not using AIS,” he said in a statement

World's First Certified Smart Ship Delivered in Shanghai The world's first smart ship was delivered in Shanghai on Tuesday. The Lloyd's Register (LR) in Britain and the China Classification Society have both certified and accredited the China-designed and built ship as an intelligent ship. The prestigious LR certification symbolizes that China's smart ship building technologies have reached the world top level. The 38,800-tonne bulk carrier of 179-meter long, 32-meter wide and 15-meter deep is named Great Intelligence. It was developed by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). After being delivered to Sinotrans Limited under China Merchants Group, it will mainly be used for transportation of coal and salt along the China-Australia and Southeast Asia sea routes. "This is the world's first intelligent ship as certified and accredited by the Lloyd's Register in the UK and the China Classification Society. Its most sali

IMO Assembly Elects New 40-Member Council The Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has elected new members of its council for the 2018-2019 biennium. Category (a) includes ten states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services: China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Panama, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States. Category (b) comprises ten states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates. Category (c) encompasses 20 states not elected under (a) or (b) above, which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world: Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Singapore,