Ferries "Rosmorport" received certificates of marine autonomous and remotely controlled surface vessels of industry

2023: Obtaining certificates of marine autonomous and remotely controlled surface vessels for the Marshal Rokossovsky and General Chernyakhovsky ecoparromes

Ecoparomes of FSUE Rosmorport Marshal Rokossovsky and General Chernyakhovsky, carrying out transportation on the line Ust-Luga Seaport - Kaliningrad Seaport, at the end of September 2023 certificates marine autonomous and remotely controlled surface vessels (MHF). This was announced on October 3, 2023 by the company. Sitronics

Documents issued by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping give the right to remotely control ships with the possibility of switching to manual control when moving at sea. When passing through the narrowness and entering the port, manual control is used in conjunction with the decision support system.

Work on equipping ferries with a-Navigation systems was carried out by FSUE Rosmorport together with Sitronics KT since 2022 as part of the federal project "Autonomous Navigation." For October 2023, ferries are equipped with a-Navigation equipment, including an autonomous navigation system, an optical system for analyzing the environment and condition of the vessel, a movement and maneuvering control system, and a system for monitoring and monitoring the vessel's systems.

To ensure remote control of ships in St. Petersburg, the Center was created Remote Control of Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rosmorport (CDU), which provides the possibility of monitoring control over the surrounding navigation situation, control of the main parameters of ferry traffic, as well as remote control of vessels on the high seas. The remote control is equipped with the necessary equipment, in particular, a remote control, and is the workplace of the operator of an autonomous vessel.

Assignment to the ferries "Marshal Rokossovsky" and "General Chernyakhovsky" of the RCMC autonomy class - MCDC of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping is an important stage in the development of the domestic autonomous navigation technologies: this will allow you to gain practical experience a-Navigation for subsequent introduction of autonomous navigation technologies in Russia and in the world.

In 2021, we were the first to test a-Navigation technology in real conditions on commercial fleet ships. A serial product has already been installed on ferries, but despite the vast experience in the development of such systems, a certificate of autonomy of ships was obtained for the first time. Now there are all the conditions for the mass introduction of a-Navigation, and Russia is a pioneer in this direction, - commented Igor Marenich, General Director of Sitronics KT.

2022

Tests of updated systems of autonomous navigation technology

Sitronics KT, as part of a demo flight, tested updated autonomous navigation technology systems that will be installed on the Rosmorport ferries of the Ust-Luga - Kaliningrad route. The company "Sitronics" announced this on June 30, 2022.

The demonstration of the updated autonomous navigation system and the optical system for analyzing the surface situation was carried out on the Rosmorport technical vessel - the Rabochaya shalanda in the Tuapse port. Monitoring of the vessel's operation and remote control was carried out from a remote control located in the St. Petersburg office of Sitronics KT.

Before the start point of the demo flight, the shalanda passed in autonomous mode - the captain laid the route, and the automation worked out its execution: the environment was analyzed, the engine rotation speeds and steering angles changed. All waypoints were reached according to the schedule.

After that, remote control was activated, which was carried out from the Sitronics KT office at a distance of 1800 km from the vessel. This was facilitated by the operation of an optical system broadcasting a 360-degree image from a ship in real time.

Then the ship was returned to autonomous mode to demonstrate the automatic maneuvering and divergence subsystem. The ship "Captain Rybakov," also owned by "Rosmorport," created various situations on the route of the "Rabochaya" hut, crossed the trajectory of its movement. The autonomous navigation system of the shalanda identified situations and automatically built divergence maneuvers, thereby successfully ensuring traffic safety.

In the near future, we will have to equip the ferries General Chernyakhovsky and Marshal Rokossovsky, owned by Rosmorport, with the necessary equipment and supply the appropriate software. A successful demonstration showed the performance of our technology to customers, "commented Andrey Rodionov, CEO of Sitronics KT.

Upon completion of the work, the ferries will be assigned the MANS class (marine autonomous or remotely controlled vessel), which allows the ship to be controlled from the coastal center, as well as use the autonomous crossing mode.

At the end of June 2022, Sitronics KT created the technical and software parts of the complex of systems for autonomous navigation.

Plan for equipping ferries with a set of systems for autonomous navigation

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.

The company will install all the necessary equipment on two ships and supply software for the operation of a-Navigation technology. We are talking about the road and railway ferries of the project CNF19M "Marshal Rokossovsky" and "General Chernyakhovsky." Their operation will provide the Kaliningrad region with reliable transport communication with the rest of Russia.

To control and manage autonomous vessels in the port of Ust-Luga, a coastal remote control center (CDU) will be deployed - this will be the first such center in Russia.

FSUE Rosmorport, as part of a pilot project to introduce a-Navigation technologies, together with Sitronics KT, is working out the possibility of widespread operation of autonomous vessels under the Russian flag. For June 2022, technologies are being tested on the vessels of the Rosmorport dredging caravan: the Redoubt dredger and the Rabochaya dredger, and in the future the project will involve innovative dual-fuel ferries of the enterprise. The implementation project will stimulate the development of domestic shipping, instrument making as well as related industries. It is expected that the introduction of autonomous navigation technologies will significantly reduce the impact of the human factor on the safety of sea transportation, "commented Kirill Gaida, Deputy Director General for Maritime Safety of FSUE Rosmorport.

After the completion of the work, ferries will be able to run both completely autonomously and under control from the Central Control Center. At the same time, in emergency situations, ships can still be manually controlled.

Autonomous navigation technology was pilot operated on ships during the year. In 2021 alone, 28 flights were carried out, in which the technology was tested and proved the possibility of application in practice. For June 2022, Russian shipowners will be able to start using a-Navigation already in commercial operation, "said Nikolai Pozhidaev, President of Sitronics Group.

The development uses artificial intelligence technologies that reduce the accident rate and the impact of the human factor in the management of ships. A-Navigation can be equipped not only with new, but also with operating vessels, which implies the deployment of 3 systems:

• autonomous navigation system;
• optical environmental analysis system;
• systems for monitoring and monitoring the technical equipment of the vessel.

As part of the contract with Rosmorport, a two-year warranty service period will be provided.