In partnership with the Nippon Foundation Japanese vessel operator Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has announced that it will test two autonomous ships this year and next year, including a ferry and a coastal container vessel.
MOL president and CEO: Junichiro Ikeda announced that MOL along with consortium partners will apply for funding to the Nippon Foundation to fund “demonstration voyages” aimed at testing the technology required to operate autonomous ships.
Demonstrations will take place within this fiscal year, according to MOL, and will show the vessels operating from a berth and returning to port.
“The demonstration voyages will be conducted with an MOL Ferry-owned/operated large-scale coastal ferry and a coastal containership owned by Imoto Corporation and operated by Imoto Lines, Ltd., using surrounding cognitive technology based on Furuno Electric-developed and owned sensors and Mitsui E&S-developed/owned ship handling for avoidance and auto berthing/unberthing technologies,” said a company statement.
The vessels will operate from from Tokyo Bay to Tomakomai, in Sapporo.
Mooring support technology will also be demonstrated by the container ship, using a drone, developed by Sekido, during the demonstration voyage of the vessel, said MOL.
According to a MOL statement the tests will seek to develop the use of automated ships with the aim to improve the shipping industry’s safety record and to reduce the crew numbers on board vessels.
“Coastal shipping, the target of the programme, is a key element of Japan’s logistics system, transporting about 40% of the nation’s domestic cargo and about 80% of basic industrial commodities on a tonne-kilometre basis. However, the costal shipping sector is heavily dependent on an aging workforce,” said MOL.
The Nippon Foundation added that, “We will carry out demonstration tests by the end of 2021 and aim to commercialise unmanned vessels by 2025.”
In addition the foundation said that more than 50% of crew were now aged over 50, while 80% of accidents were due to human error, “The realisation of unmanned operating ships is expected to solve these issues”.
Looking further ahead the foundation argued that, “If unmanned vessels are realised and 50% of the vessels would be replaced by unmanned vessels in 2040, an economic effect of approximately 1 trillion yen (US$9.31 billion) per year is expected in Japan.”
The MOL consortium includes, Mitsui E&S, Furuno Electric Company, Imoto Corporation, Sekido Co. Ltd, MOL Ferry Co. and MOL Marine Co., Ltd, the last two a part of MOL Group.
Nick Savvides
Managing Editor
