: Autonomous Ships: The Next Wave of Innovation in Maritime Industry

Sailing into the future with Autonomous Ships

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are the uproar of this era. After airways, thanks to the companies like Tesla, that people are now getting used to see driverless cars around. However, behold the buzz because after hearing about auto pilot and auto drive, people are soon going to hear auto sail!

The Artificial Intelligence is all set to dive in the oceans and seas with autonomous ships. The time is near when you will be witnessing a fully automatic self-driven ship.

While talking about the autonomous ships, people often get fouled up with remote control. Where in remote control, people are sailing the ships from afar, autonomous technology uses its own intelligence and data to sail through the waters.

The competition is getting tough!

Companies and countries all over the globe are racing to sail ahead of one another on their fully autonomous ships. It is said that by 2030 the market share of autonomous ships is going to grow up to 4.4 % by acquiring around $134.90 billion. This is the reason companies are working day and night to cover the most of it.

Apparently, Finferries and Rolls-Royce have come together to make the dream of automatic ships possible. They have built a completely autonomous ferry named as Falco which navigated itself between Parainen and Nauvo. It reportedly carried 80 guests and sailed successfully using its own intelligence.

On the other hand, the advancement in artificial intelligence is growing leaps and bounds in China. A Chinese company, Yunzhou Tech in collaboration with China Classification Society and the Wuhan University of Technology, has recently sailed its first autonomous ship successfully. This ship travelled from Zhuhuais Dong Ao island to the Number 1 pier of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge without any help from the crew members.

This ship is claimed to save the operating cost and construction cost by one- fifth. It is also said to reduce the emissions by 15 % and minimize fuel consumption by a considerable amount.

With so many companies coming up with amazing leads in this sector, it will not be long when you will be travelling on a self- driven ship. The collaboration of Rolls-Royce Marine with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) to demonstrate a test of fully atomized AI ship and many such collaboration tells us that the future ships are near the shore.

However, all of this is easier said than done. A steady and very well-made system is needed before we depend on these future ships completely. Although there is still a lot of scope for improvement in this sector, the benefits of it are unmatched. Not only they will save billions by cost cutting, but will come with outstanding opportunities to have a look into the unexplored. It is expected to do wonders with the navy as well.

Several countries are trying to put their best nut forward in this sector. With many tests and RDs the future of autonomous ships has steadily started to sail. So, hold tight till the autonomous ships are eagerly awaited!