Keyless navigation, BES Unmanned sea vessels

2024: Marlin-KN underwater drone released in Russia

The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping issued a classification certificate for the Marlin-KN remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle (TNPA) manufactured by Tetis Pro JSC. This was announced in April 2024 by the press service of the department. Read more here.

2023

The first unmanned ferry was launched in Russia

In Russia, the commercial operation of the first sea vessel in remote control mode began: the ferry "General Chernyakhovsky" began an autonomous flight. Such information was shared with TAdviser on December 19, 2023 by representatives of the Digital Transport and Logistics Association. Read more here.

Production of the first sea drones launched in Russia

At the end of November 2023, the KMZ holding (Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant) announced the start of the production of the first in Russia non-ship boats (sea drones). The company is going to begin deliveries of these products for the Ministry of Defense by the end of 2023. This will be the first batch of naval drones that will be tested in the zone of the military special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. Read more here.

Rosmorport registered the first unmanned ferries in Russia

Rosmorport registered the first unmanned ferries in Russia. The press service of the enterprise announced this on October 3, 2023. Read more here.

Unmanned kamikaze boat "Vizir" presented in Russia

Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant (KMZ) has developed an unmanned kamikaze boat "Vizir" and is now negotiating with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the supply of such drones. This became known on September 11, 2023. Read more here.

World's first unmanned ferry launched

In early June 2023, the Norwegian company Torghatten introduced the autonomous passenger ferry Estelle, which does not need a captain. The cost of the vessel is $1.6 million, the initiative to organize the crossing was the result of private and public cooperation and was partially funded by the EU. Read more here.

Russia has developed "vision" for unmanned river and sea vessels

The Russian company RobBotKraft has created a device that will allow boats and boats to recognize dangerous objects. This was announced at the beginning of May 2023 to RIA Novosti by the press service of the NTI Project Support Fund. Read more here.

China launches first unmanned reconnaissance vessel

In mid-January 2023, China commissioned the world's first fully automated research vessel. Read more here.

2022

World's first unmanned electric ferry commissioned

An unmanned electric passenger ferry, said to be the first of its kind, was commissioned in Norway on 27 September 2022. The vessel was developed by the team of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), it was called MilliAmpere 2. Read more here.

The first Russian drone ship went to Sevastopol

At the end of August 2022, the first Russian drone ship, Pioneer-M, built for Sevastopol State University at the Central Nevsky Shipyard in St. Petersburg, went to Sevastopol. Read more here.

Sitronics KT will make autonomous ferries connecting the Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions

Sitronics KT (part of Sitronics Group) will equip ferries belonging to Rosmorport with a complex of systems for autonomous navigation on the Ust-Luga-Baltiysk line. According to the concluded contract, work is planned to be completed in the third quarter of 2023. This was announced on June 7, 2022 by Sitronics. Read more here.

China launches world's first unmanned drone ship

On May 19, 2022, China unveiled the world's first semi-autonomous unmanned drone ship. The research vessel, created by Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard, will transport, launch, restore and coordinate more than 50 other autonomous air, surface and underwater vehicles. Read more here.

Unmanned container ship began to sail in Japan

At the end of January 2022, in Japan, the world's first unmanned container ship made the transition between two ports. The pilot project was implemented by logistics giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, a group of Japanese companies led by the Nippon Foundation investment fund. Read more here.

Hyundai Heavy will send the world's first drone cargo ship on a transoceanic flight

Hyundai Heavy will send a drone cargo ship on the first transoceanic flight in the first quarter. This became known on January 7, 2022. Read more here.

2021: Russia's first unmanned research vessel launched

On September 24, 2021, the ceremony of launching the first unmanned vessel in Russia took place in St. Petersburg. It was called "Pioneer-M" and is intended for research work. Read more here.

2020

Rosmorport began testing unmanned vessels

In mid-November 2020, Rosmorport announced the start of testing an unmanned vessel. We are talking about a soil removal shalanda called "Worker," on which special control equipment is installed. Read more here.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade approved the provisions on the launch of unmanned vessels

On September 22, 2020, it became known that the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved the provisions on the launch of unmanned vessels. Their tests will begin in the next 11 constituent entities of Russia: Astrakhan Region, Kaliningrad Region, Krasnodar Territory, Leningrad Region, Magadan Region, Murmansk Region, Primorsky Territory, Rostov Region, St. Petersburg, Sakhalin Region and Khabarovsk Territory.

It is assumed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade will be able to use the test results when organizing the production and installation of automatic and remote control systems on sea and river vessels.

The experiment, which will last until the end of 2025, will be attended by the Mikhail Ulyanov tanker (Sovcomflot), which makes regular flights between Murmansk and the Prirazlomnaya MLSP, and the Paul Anfisa dry cargo ship (Pola Rise), which will operate regular flights in the waters of the Black and Caspian Seas, as well as a bundle from the soil haulage barge Rabochaya and dredger Redut (Rosmort).

The Ministry of Industry and Trade approved the provisions on the launch of unmanned vessels

The main goal of the project is that from January 2021 any shipping company can equip its merchant or technical vessel under the flag of Russia with autonomous navigation systems and legally use them in regular commercial activities, explained Alexander Pinsky, general director of the MariNet industry center of the National Technology Initiative.

We do not invent new entities, but take the entire set of functions that are now prescribed to be performed by the crew on board in terms of navigation by international and national regulators, and sequentially, one after another, we perform each function in automatic and remote mode, - he explained to RBC.

Pinsky noted that by introducing drones, shipping companies will be able to reduce 15-30% of operating costs. This will also cover the shortage of highly qualified sailors, which now reaches 20% of the required number of workers.^[1]

Red Hat to take part in MAS'innovative unmanned marine research project

On April 16, 2020, it became known that Red Hat will take part in the MAS innovative unmanned marine research project. MAS will be one of the first full-size and fully autonomous unmanned vessels to cross the Atlantic. The MAS project is the result of a global collaboration led by the marine research organization Promare. Timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the legendary voyage of the original Mayflower, the project opens up interesting prospects for the shipping industry and the future of oceanographic research. Read more here.

2019: A pilot is being implemented in Russia to develop and test equipotential navigation technologies

As it became known to TAdviser on April 24, 2019, in Russia, within the framework of the National Technological Initiative (NTI) and with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, a pilot project on offshore navigation (BES) is being implemented in order to support high technologies in the most promising areas of the marine industry.

Participation in the "pilot," which started at the end of 2018, is taken by leading domestic shipping companies and Russian developers of marine navigation solutions and control systems, including the NTI working group on the development of high technologies for the marine industry Marinet.

Within the framework of the project, it is planned to develop and test technologies for automatic navigation and remote control of ships. The results of the project implementation are planned to be obtained by the spring of 2020: the creation of means of automatic and remote navigation to equip existing ships, the results of their experimental operation, as well as proposals for international and national use, the introduction of a regulatory framework for the operation of ships and marine equipment with a high degree of automation.

Among the advantages of bookless navigation are the improvement of the safety of navigation and the reduction of the number of crew on board or the improvement of the existing traditional ship control system. The crew receives timely decision-making information and support from qualified shore personnel; the shipping company is able to control everything that happens on the ship, optimize its movement and quickly influence decisions; shipowners, insurance companies, maritime administrations - unprecedented transparency and reliability of information on the movement and condition of ships.

On the one hand, it is expected that BES technologies will eliminate the human factor in ensuring traffic safety. The system will provide more accurate and uninterrupted information on the location of ships. On the other hand, the introduction of such technologies can give rise to unemployment, since some of the staff will be replaced by automation. Repair personnel should be very highly qualified. Indeed, in addition to mechanics, it will be necessary to repair electronics, so it will be necessary for employees to conduct training trainings and courses. However, in general, automation allows you to simplify the control of the ship based on ready-made software solutions. Thus, theoretically, it will be possible to use the crew without much experience.

In addition to improving safety and eliminating the human factor in control, the introduction of a wireless control system is beneficial due to the cheaper design of the vessel, increased capacity and reduced operating costs for the crew. It is assumed that the introduction of a massive global use of keyless vessels could take several decades: first, companies will use vessels with remote control and reduced crew, then fully autonomous vessels will appear.

Given the most difficult conditions navigation in the northern seas, the life of the ship may depend on the speed of decision-making by the captain. Despite all the advantages, there are disadvantages to automating ships. So, ships cannot be completely autonomous, since the installed equipment requires the control of specialists. For example, a camcorder mounted on a ship may not always provide a clear image to the operator at the control station, especially in poor visibility or communication failures. In this case, the presence of qualified personnel on the ship is necessary in order to notice the danger in time and prevent its consequences.

Until recently, sea transport was not perceived as a promising field of application of information technologies. The reasons were the traditional conservatism of the industry, the long cycle of ship design and operation and, most importantly, the underdeveloped and expensive telecommunications infrastructure based primarily on satellite communications. The transfer of large amounts of data online has become the main criterion for business efficiency. But so far it turns out that sea transport was left overboard. Hundreds of thousands of ships, thousands of seaports and shipping companies, national and international regulators, millions of professional sailors and employees providing shipping and transportation were isolated from each other in terms of information exchange. However, the development of computer systems and IT and their introduction into the field of shipping will allow not only to establish effective data exchange between the ship and the coast, but also to create a single information network connecting all participants and all elements of the maritime industry, "said Alexey Tuzov, an independent expert in the transport industry.