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Autonomous vessels a 'huge opportunity' for shortsea shippingAutonomous vessels a 'huge opportunity' for shortsea shipping

Kongsberg believes autonomous vessels will be a “real opportunity” for shortsea shipping as it develops the first autonomous electric vessel with Yara.

Marcus Hand, Editor

May 30, 2017

1 Min Read
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Quizzed at the Nor-Shipping opening conference if autonomous vessels were just a niched Geir Håøy, ceo of Kongsberg Group said: “I definitely think is not a niche thing this is changes that we will see coming. I think this is related not only to the technology its related to the business model change and I think its related to regulation.”

In the case of the Yara Birkeland which will be the world's first fully electric and autonomous container shipping due for delivery in second half 2018, Håøy, said he believed they were driven by both competitive and environmental reasons.

“This is a huge opportunity for shortsea shipping, I am not so sure about the long haul it will take a while before we see fully autonomous ships going across the oceans,” he said.

Nikolas Tsakos, president and ceo Tsakos Energy Navigation, believes that highly trained personnel will still need to be operate complex modern vessels, however the numbers needed would be reduced.

“I do not believe we will ever see a fully automated or unmanned VLCC going around the world as we do not see a 737 or an A380 doing the same thing,” Tsakos stated.

“But when I first vessel was liberty we had 50 Greek crew on, today we have 22 on a VLCC in our generation we will see vessels going down to 10 or 12 people and I believe there will be much more technology.”

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About the Author

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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