Ship Operators Explore Autonomous Sailing - with minimal or even no crew
Ship Operators Explore Autonomous Sailing
More automation will enable them to optimize use of cargo
vessels, cut fuel consumption and labor costs
By ROBERT WALL in London and COSTAS PARIS in New York
Aug. 31, 2016 5:30 a.m. ET
“All hands on deck” may become a thing of the past.
Ship designers, their operators and regulators are
gearing up for a future in which cargo vessels sail the oceans with minimal or
even no crew. Advances in automation and ample bandwidth even far offshore
could herald the biggest change in shipping since diesel engines replaced
steam.
Ship operators believe more automation will enable them
to optimize ship use, including cutting fuel consumption. “The benefit of
automation is as an enabler of further efficiency across the 630 vessels we
operate,” said Palle Laursen, head of Maersk Line Ship Management, a unit of
cargo-ship giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S.
British engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC is leading
the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications initiative involving other
companies and universities. It foresees technologies long used to improve
commercial airline operations migrating to ships. The group also is tapping
know-how from those working on driverless cars to adapt for safe at-sea
autonomous operations.
A future unmanned ship could resemble some of the most
advanced combat drones. It would sport infrared detectors, high-resolution
cameras and laser sensors to monitor its surroundings. The vast troves of data
would be transmitted to command centers where staff do little more than monitor
progress and ensure ships are operating at optimum speeds.
The consortium completed a study this year that concluded
such vessels are feasible and offer savings.
Oskar Levander, vice president for innovation at
Rolls-Royce’s marine unit, said moving toward greater autonomy and unmanned
shipping could cut transport costs 22%. The bulk would come from lower staff
costs, though such vessels also would be more fuel efficient by eliminating the
need to carry equipment to support people onboard.
The first steps already are being taken. The Stella
ferry, used in the Baltic and operated by Finferries, has been equipped with a
variety of sensors including lasers and thermal cameras to assess whether such
sensors could allow autonomous operations.
A critical step toward floating remotely controlled
unmanned cargo ships on the oceans by 2030, and autonomous ones by 2035, is the
ability to pass large amounts of data from ship to shore to ensure safe
operations. For years, lack of affordable bandwidth has made that a challenge.
A new generation of communications satellites is promising lower costs to
transfer data.
Satellite-services company Inmarsat PLC this year
launched its Fleet Xpress service to provide improved connectivity to ship
operators. It combines high-bandwidth satellites with a more secure connection
to guarantee vital safety connectivity. Ronald Spithout, president of
Inmarsat’s maritime business, said the connection will let operators monitor
engine and other ship functions more closely to enable enhanced automation.
Rolls-Royce, no longer affiliated with the luxury car
maker, is betting that a push to smarter vessels will lift the fortunes of its
struggling marine business. The prolonged slump in crude prices has led to a
sharp drop in demand for sophisticated offshore vessels. Marine sales at
Rolls-Royce fell 23% last year after declining 16% the prior year when oil
prices started to slump.
Oil prices may rebound, but the demand for the
gold-plated vessels used to service oil and gas rigs far offshore may never
fully recover, said Mikael Makinen, president of Rolls-Royce’s marine division.
Rolls-Royce is betting smart ships will be a new growth market.
The company is already in talks with operators it
wouldn’t name to start trials of more autonomous vessels.
Automating shipping faces barriers, though. “There are a
vast range of safety, security, navigational and legal challenges to be solved
before crewless container vessels can be considered in our fleet,” said
Maersk’s Mr. Laursen.
The International Maritime Organization, the arm of the
United Nations overseeing global shipping, prohibits ship operations without
crew. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, known as
Solas, requires all ships to be “sufficiently and efficiently manned,” the IMO
said.
Safety rules emerged in 1914 in the wake of the sinking
of the RMS Titanic two years earlier, which killed more than 1,500 passengers
on the ship’s maiden trans-Atlantic voyage. Current rules, completed in 1974,
have been adapted for new technologies such as introducing mandatory
requirements for electronic charts and automatic identification systems for
ships. Proponents of greater autonomy hope the rules may be further relaxed.
Separately, it is unclear as of yet how security issues
like piracy and the mandate to help distressed ships will be addressed for
these ships
IMO spokeswoman Natasha Brown said the British
government-sponsored Marine Autonomous Systems Regulatory Working Group, set up
in 2014, is reviewing pertinent regulations to potentially propose changes.
James Fanshawe, chairman of the working group, said it
hopes to convince the international organization to pave the way for autonomous
vessels before the end of the decade.
Capt. Thanasis Apostolopoulos, head of crews at
Athens-based Springfield Shipping Co. and a sailor for 17 years, said the drive
to unmanned ships may be inevitable. “It will be a sad day for seafarers when
it happens,” he said.
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