Speaking at the Autonomous Ship Technology Symposium in Amsterdam, held June 21-23, 2016, Oskar Levander, VP of Marine Innovation at Rolls-Royce once again voiced his support for autonomous ships, stating that it may be as early as 2020 that we are to see the first unmanned vessel set sail.
Rolls-Royce and the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWA) have also published a whitepaper together alongside the presentation in Amsterdam, outlining the research that has been undertaken to develop autonomous ships and the tests and trials that have been done on sensors.
Rolls Royce has previously stated that the idea of a ship at sea without a crew is just around the corner, with the option for them to be monitored remotely by a captain stationed at base anywhere around the world.
Tests have been carried out in Finland for such a concept, while trials of these ship types undergoing different operating and climatic conditions are also being carried out. Sensors have been fitted to Finferries’ ferry, the Stella, for testing, while ESL Shipping has helped to explore the implications of remote and autonomous ships for the short sea cargo sector.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done, largely relating to regulation and safety and security challenges. Piracy is also a concern, while the security protection against cyber hackers must be tightened even further. Rolls-Royce has stated that although these are some concerns, it is pushing its technology boundaries to give an answer to any problem or challenge that may arise. And although there has been some negativity regarding the role of crew, it will be many years before these ships are implemented and may provide a cheaper and more efficient way of shipping than today.
The first fully autonomous or remotely controlled cargo ship is expected to set sail on the Baltic Sea, between Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, and Russia.
The whitepaper can be accessed by clicking here.
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