Page 18: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2018)

THE VISION OF

AUTONOMOUS

SHIPPING

About the Author

Jussi Siltanen is Product Manager at

NAPA Safety Solutions. He currently

AUTONOMOUS SHIPPING oversees the management of NAPA’s on- board solutions for stability and safety.

Image: Rolls-Royce Marine

The end of 2018 provides an excel- a local example for me, in Finland the Engineers (SNAME) conference, where and will continue to take place during lent opportunity to highlight some of government decided in 2017 to support I delivered a presentation on autono- the following four sessions until mid the measures that have been taken by an initiative called One Sea, which aims mous ships that explored the importance 2020. The committee is also focused the maritime industry over the past year to operate autonomous maritime eco- of stability; a factor that is crucial for on safety, secure and environmentally to develop a better understanding of au- systems by 2025. In addition, ÄlyVESI any ship. In this article I will go beyond sound Maritime Autonomous Surface tonomous shipping. A drive towards au- - Smart City Ferries has started working that and also examine the evolving regu- Ships (MASS) operations. MASS has tonomous shipping has been embraced on a project that will eventually provide lations, design, and technology within been de? ned as a ship which, to a vary- by many major players such as Rolls the foundations for the class require- autonomous shipping. These key areas ing degree, can operate independently of

Royce and Wärtsilä, and this has led to ments for autonomous vessels. will all need to cooperate in order to pro- human interaction. numerous new strategies, visions, and With numerous development projects duce the best possible outcome. The current international maritime reg- projects that are pushing the boundaries currently underway, we’re going to see ulation on ship stability is largely stipu- of technological innovation. It’s no lon- models that will feature differing lev- The Regulations lated with the assumption that a ship is ger a matter of whether technology can els of automation and autonomy. These The technical boundaries to autono- manned and based on the SOLAS Chap- achieve this next step, but rather how the prototypes will ultimately work towards mous shipping are, by and large, less ter II-1 titled “Construction – Structure, technology is used to accomplish it, and generating a practical autonomous ves- formidable than the regulatory ones. subdivision and stability and stability, what we need to do as an industry to en- sel suitable for daily tasks within the The work to change this, however, has machinery and electrical installations”. sure that autonomous operations are safe shipping industry. begun. The 99th session of the Maritime However, some requirements for build- and ef? cient. The interest in autonomous shipping Safety Committee took place in May ing a safe ship in terms of stability will

Autonomous shipping has evolved was evident at the recently concluded 2018, which of? cially commenced work still apply for unmanned ships such as tremendously in recent years. To take Society of Naval Architects & Marine on addressing a regulatory framework double bottom. 18 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • DECEMBER 2018

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