Classification Society Lloyd’s Register (LR) has published new guidance to provide information on the classification of autonomous ships.
The ShipRight Procedure Guidance outlines how autonomous ships will be classed using an AL system to provide designers, shipbuilders, equipment manufacturers, ship owners and operators with the information needed to clarify the different levels in autonomous ships to help develop a clearer understanding of the investment opportunities and risks involved. This also means that accurate specifications of the desired level of autonomy in design and operations can be made.
The AL rating system ranges from AL 1, which denotes a ship that is largely actioned by a human operator but has a decision-support tool to influence the actions taken, to AL 6, which denotes a fully autonomous ship with no access required during a mission. The procedure enables the user to identify the initial business need to the systems classed status of a design and a ship that will ultimately be in operation.
The guidance also discusses the human-system considerations, how to enable a human-centred approach to ensure that human element issues are known in a cyber-enabled ship and that these issues are adequately addressed with the risks mitigated.
There is a swelling demand for more autonomous ships in the industry that can be operated using different levels of control and therefore there is a need to develop levels so that owners and decision-makers can make these decisions for the design, construction and operation of the ship based on the level of autonomy required.
LR has been working with key industry players to make autonomous shipping a practical reality, creating new generations of cyber ship safety, security and maintenance monitoring and performance guidance to help improve performance and secure good return on investment.
Luis Benito, Head of Innovation Strategy & Research commented: “The levels provide a procedure to address the safety and practical issues required to meet classification, regulatory and market drivers.”
Benito continued: “In the future everything will be cheaper, but with better performance. That’s what the market is looking for. But most importantly, from LR’s perspective, as well as being more cost effective, shipping can also be safer. Safety will reduce costs. We are only at the start of the cyber ship and a cyber-enabled shipping industry but we are making amazing progress. We are trying to help the industry adopt the data, digital and connectivity technologies could deliver benefits to shipping – and to help keep ships safe.”
The guidance has been peer reviewed by leading technology companies say LR and can be accessed by clicking here.
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