An international consortium has announced the launch later this year of a prototype autonomous offshore support vessel, a world first. France’s BOURBON marine services company, UK-based Automated Ships (ASL) and Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime are working on the Hrönn, a light-duty utility vessel for offshore energy,...
In collaboration with Finnish universities and global maritime companies, Rolls-Royce Marine has completed phase I of its Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative to make autonomous shipping a reality. We talked to Rolls-Royce vice president of innovation–marine, Oskar Levander. NauticExpo e-mag: Does...
The Mayflower Autonomous Research Ship takes high-tech to the high seas. In 2020, it will be the first full-sized craft to cross the Atlantic without a single person aboard. It was in late 1620 that the converted Dutch cargo ship Mayflower made its famous ocean crossing, carrying 102 pilgrims and a crew of about 30...
The C-Worker 7 is a robust multi-function unmanned surface vehicle (USV) suitable for a variety of offshore and coastal tasks. For example, it can carry out subsea positioning, surveying and environmental monitoring without maintaining a ship on station, according to the website of manufacturer ASV Global. With a...
With a growing number of key shipboard systems now becoming digitized and interconnected, cybersecurity is an increasingly important part of maritime risk management. To date, the number of recorded maritime cyberattacks has been minimal. But as the commercial shipping industry moves into the autonomous era, the risk...
