Sponsored By

Autonomous shipping advances in Denmark and the UKAutonomous shipping advances in Denmark and the UK

Autonomous shipping has been much in the news these past two weeks after a flurry of separate developments in Denmark and the UK.

Bob Jaques, Former Editor

November 23, 2017

2 Min Read
Kalyakan - stock.adobe.com

First up, the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) organised a one-day conference on the subject in Copenhagen last week, at which some the conclusions of a new report due out next month were unveiled. These included proposals on how the DMA should introduce new regulations to promote digitalisation within the shipping industry, thereby establishing itself as a thought leader in the field.  

To coincide with the conference, Rolls-Royce and Svitzer had arranged several demonstrations in Copenhagen harbour, for customers and the press, of what they term ‘the world’s first remotely operated commercial vessel’.

The demonstrations consisted of berthing/unberthing and harbour navigational manoeuvres by a specially modified 28 m tug equipped with DP propulsion, entirely controlled by a master seated in Svitzer’s Remote Operations Centre located in an office building alongside. The Svitzer Hermod tug had been modified by Rolls-Royce and retrofitted with some 7 km of extra cabling to connect all the necessary communications links and sensors, company officials informed, including night vision and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) laser technology, as well as radar and AIS, for situational awareness.  The vessel is classed by Lloyd’s Register and was being operated according to LR’s ShipRight procedure for the ‘Cyber Enabled Ship’.

Meanwhile, over in London the UK Maritime Autonomous Systems (MAS) Working Group launched a new Industry Code of Practice for autonomous vessels. Providing practical guidance for the “design, construction and safe operation of autonomous and semi-autonomous vessels less than 24 m in length”, the Code aims to put down a marker on “initial standards and best practice for all those involved with the development and operation of autonomous ships”.

And the UK Shipping Register simultaneously announced that it had signed its first ever unmanned, semi-autonomous vessel to the flag, ASV’s C-Worker 7 – a multi-role Autonomous Work Boat suitable for subsea positioning, surveying and environmental monitoring.

“By supporting emerging technologies such as autonomous systems, we are helping to keep the UK at the forefront of the global maritime industry,” commented UKSR director Doug Barrow.

Read more about:

autonomous ships

About the Author

Bob Jaques

Former Editor

Bob Jaques is a former editor of Seatrade Maritime Review magazine and has over 20 years of experience as a maritime journalist and moderator of shipping conferences.

Bob is an English literature graduate from the University of York with a postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London. He worked as an aerospace and media journalist in Geneva before joining Seatrade in the 1990s.

Bob is a past winner of the Seahorse ‘Journalist of the Year’ and ‘Best Feature Article’ Awards.

Get the latest maritime news, analysis and more delivered to your inbox
Join 12,000+ members of the maritime community

You May Also Like