Automated Ships, Kongsberg ink deal to build first unmanned vessel

The vessel, named Hrönn, is a light-duty, offshore utility ship servicing the offshore energy, scientific/hydrographic and offshore fish-farming industries. It is expected to be built at the Fjellstrand yard located on Norway’s west coast and delivered in January 2017.

Sea trials will take place in Norway's newly designated automated vessel test bed in the Trondheim fjord and will be conducted under the eyes of DNV GL and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) with who the vessel will be classed and flagged, respectively.

Bjørn Johan Vartdal, head of DNV GL Maritime Research called Hrönn, “a brave initiative and a major step towards the realisation of these technologies, and we look forward to moving technology frontiers together with all those involved.”

Currently, only small unmanned boats are being utilised for near shore operations but there are no technical limitations to constructing large, unmanned and automated systems.

Hrönn will initially operate and function primarily as a remotely piloted ship, in Man-in-the-Loop Control mode, but will transition to fully automated, and ultimately autonomous operations as the control algorithms are developed concurrently during remotely piloted operations.

Kongsberg will deliver all major marine equipment necessary for the design, construction and operation of Hrönn including dynamic positioning and navigation, satellite and position reference, marine automation and communication.

All vessel control systems including K-Pos dynamic positioning, K-Chief automation and K-Bridge ECDIS will be replicated at an Onshore Control Centre, allowing full remote operations of Hrönn.

‘The advantages of unmanned ships are manifold, but primarily centre on the safe guarding of life and reduction in the cost of production and operations; removing people from the hazardous environment of at-sea operations and re-employing them on-shore to monitor and operate robotic vessels remotely,’ said Brett A. Phaneuf, managing director of Automated Ships, an M Subs subsidiary.

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