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are critical in achieving industry con? - Projects addressing the testing and vessels will be a particular focus as the dence of safe working practices in off- validation of these technologies and test- OSW industry embraces an increasingly shore operations with the need for very ing the interoperability between these complex range of offshore autonomous high system reliability. functions and existing conventional and remote control functions.

The success of these new technolo- gies is dependent on thorough testing and veri? cation to prevent potential fail- ures, covering comprehensive, diverse and critical situations for both normal and abnormal operational conditions.

As technology continues to evolve and autonomous functions are increasingly applied to more vessels used in the OSW industry, there are several issues that will require continual focus, including con- nectivity, the use of augmented reality, human factors and cyber security. Con- tinuous and reliable communication and connectivity between the vessel and the remote operator station is a key enabler.

ABS collaborated with Sea Machines and Foss Maritime to advance adoption of autonomous operations at sea by issu- ing approval in principle (AIP) to their vessel autonomy system, the SM300, that provides autonomous navigation and collision detection and collision avoidance (CDCA). Foss is to install

Sea Machines’ SM300 system on board its harbor tug Rachael Allen to enhance safety and ef? ciency of operations.

Overall, the system will function for :HGHOLYHUDQDGYDQWDJHWRWKH86?HHWE\VWDFNLQJWKH routine transit and stand-by operations GHFNVZLWKDJURZLQJDUUD\RIEHVWLQFODVVQDYDOWHFKQRO with the goals of enhanced safety and RJLHV2(0SDUWVDQGWXUQNH\VHUYLFHV?DOOIURPDVLQJOH

WUXVWHGVRXUFH alleviating crew fatigue.

Going forward, ABS believes the

OSW industry will see an increasing number of projects focused on address- ing the challenges of autonomous and remote-control functions. Interest is already growing in uncrewed survey systems, seabed analysis and collecting underwater acoustic data. By providing support to industry through certi? ca- tion with Approval In Principle (AIP), and ABS’s Technology Quali? cation, it paves the way for operators to qualify autonomous systems and their opera- tions to improve their safety, competi- tiveness and productivity.

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