Page 25: of Marine News Magazine (July 2021)

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Feature

Autonomous Workboats tems for manned ships can be adapted Rachael Allen will be delivered with located in Southampton, U.K.

for the unmanned surface segment. the SM300 and supporting hardware But as all the maritime sectors are

In early June DNV announced that fully integrated into the vessel, the now racing toward a greener future,

Ocean In? nity would be deploying capability of the technology will be the all-encompassing and role of au- its ShipManager platform. DNV said, activated in stepped phases over the tomation, an ingredient in what is “The robotic ships in Ocean In? nity’s course of six to nine months to ensure becoming a “virtuous circle”, is now

Armada ? eet use low-emission ? eet full visibility and acceptance from all being revealed. LR’s Humphries re- technology and are equipped with operational stakeholders.” iterated this, saying, “Digitization state-of-the-art sensors and pioneer- The people on board are not going of autonomous vessels can enable ing navigational solutions that allow away so fast. As the pace of autonomy transit optimization. Sailing routes, information to be gathered from the quickens, the human elements con- speeds and all destination port han- shallowest and deepest waters, wheth- tinue to be addressed. In early June, dling can be optimized in both ? - er for exploration, mapping or search- the U.K.’s Royal Navy, training spe- nancial and emission value terms to ing for wreckage. The marine robots cialist SeaBot XR and the U.K.’s Na- the shipowner/operator. Autonomy use hybrid technology, cutting CO2 tional Oceanography Center signed will also give understanding of vessel emissions. An Armada robotic vessel a memorandum of understanding health, including predictive main- emits up to 90% less CO2 than a con- (MOU) to create the National Center tenance, that can support a marked ventional survey vessel.” Ocean In? n- for Operational Excellence in Marine reduction in emissions through its ity stresses its green bona ? des, saying Robotics, a training center that will be operational life.” that “Armada will be the ? rst ever car- bon neutral ocean tech and data com- pany.” But Ocean In? nity also has its sights set on logistics and cargo deliv- ery. At Armada’s 2020 launching, Dan

Hook, the ? rm’s managing director, said, “We will be working with several partners as we introduce on-demand low emissions logistics services.

Also in Norway, Yara International (active across agriculture and more recently, in developing ammonia fu- els for shipping ) took delivery in late 2020 of the battery powered Yara

Birkeland from the Vard Brattvåg yard. The 3,200 dwt 120 TEU vessel has been tested for stability and is now docked at Horten (down the Fjord from Oslo) being further prepared for autonomous operation.

Autonomy in the maritime world is a gradual process implemented in phases, similar to that underway for automobiles. Sea Machines, out? t- ting the Foss tug, said, “While the www.marinelink.com MN 25|