Japan: Developers test first autonomous ferry

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Japan
Ship without a captain – first autonomous ferry tested

The autonomous “Smart Coastal Ferry” ship off a coast in Japan

© The Nippon Foundation

A ship more than two hundred meters long sails across the sea without a captain: Developers in Japan have now realized this. They had a fully autonomous ferry travel 240 kilometers as a test.

Cars that drive autonomously are no longer a special feature – ships, on the other hand, are. The Nippon Foundation, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group and ferry operator Shin Nihonkai Ferry have successfully tested a fully autonomous ferry in Japan, the companies said.

The 222-meter-long ship, project named “Smart Coastal Ferry,” cruised autonomously across the sea for about seven hours, covering a 240-kilometer route from Shinmoji to Iyonada. It reached a top speed of 26 knots. During the test drive, the ferry headed for a berth and performed turning manoeuvres. The developers conducted the test as part of “Meguri 2040”, a fledgling project that aims to encourage the development of autonomous ships since 2020. It is said to be the first fully autonomous ship of its kind in the world.

Developers in Japan hope to establish the ship

The ship was equipped with a sensor image analysis function with infrared cameras, which can recognize other ships even in the dark. It also featured automatic ship navigation with auto-avoidance, a fully autonomous operating system with remote engine monitoring, and a cybersecurity system.

The developers hope the project will help solve challenges in shipping, such as improving safety, saving onboard labor and reducing costs. Mitsuyuki Unno, Executive Director of the Nippon Foundation said: “(…) I hope that this will lead to further development towards practical application. However, there are still many questions to be answered and I believe that today’s results will be a signpost for the creating international rules for fully autonomous ships.” The test drives should be completed by March.

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Other autonomous ships already tested

In fact, there were test drives with autonomous ships a few years ago. At the end of 2018, the Finnish ferry company Finnferries demonstrated the world’s first fully automated ferry “Falco” in the archipelago of the city of Turku. With the “Yara Birkeland” there is already an autonomous and at the same time fully electric ship for container transport. The 80 meter long ship with a top speed of 15 knots made its first voyage to Oslo in November 2021. It is scheduled to go into trial operation this year in an area near the coast of Norway, initially for two years, and will bring products from the fertilizer manufacturer Yara to the port in Bervik.

Sources: Mitsubishi, YLE, German Aerospace Center, Yara,

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