There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus the inevitability of globalization in the world economy. As a result of the production freeze on one side of the world, havoc has been wreaked on the other, and supply chains are still struggling to recover. Although there are a number of countries looking to bring production back on their own soil of vital goods, this does not mean that the movement of products across international borders will stop, or even slow down.
There are more than 90 percent of these movements that are handled by ships, according to the International Maritime Organization, also known as the ILO. It is claimed that maritime transport is the most economical way to transport large quantities of raw materials and goods throughout the world in large quantities. In terms of price, a ship may be cheaper than a plane (or autonomous cargo drones, if one startup has its way), but it is also much slower than a plane.
In addition to this, they also produce a lot of pollution. Ships use fuel that contains more sulfur than what is used in cars. This means that there is a lot more environmental damage caused by fewer ships than cars do. This problem has been addressed by a Japanese non-profit organization known as the Nippon Foundation; they are supporting Japan’s development of autonomous ships, with the goal of one day making up half of the country’s local fleet by the year 2040 as a result of their efforts.
Besides environmental concerns, Japan has a different motivation for pushing for automation. This motivation is related to its aging population and low birth rates. This means that this country’s workforce is shrinking rapidly, which is having a negative impact on its economy.
It is therefore imperative for the Japanese to automate as many job functions as possible (and the rest of the world will likely follow behind them, although they will not have quite the same impetus as the Japanese). There is a high percentage of Japanese workers over the age of 50 on board ships, according to the Nippon Foundation.
In cooperation with Misui OSK Lines Ltd., the foundation recently completed two tests of autonomous ships in partnership with the company. The first vessel was a container ship of 313 feet called the Mikage. The vessel sailed 161 nautical miles from Tsuruga Port, north of Kyoto, to Sakai Port near Osaka, a distance of 161 nautical miles in total. Upon reaching its destination port, the ship was even able to steer itself into the bay where its mooring line was to be dropped by drones. It was also able to steer itself into the bay itself.
Mikage was retrofitted with sensors, cameras, and a satellite navigation system after it was built seven years ago. In addition to wind, current, and weather data, a control center on land monitored nearby ships and potential obstacles.
In the same way that self-driving cars are more likely to operate autonomously on highways than in unpredictable urban settings, the Mikage did not have much trouble navigating open waters. Navigating in and out of ports was the ship’s biggest challenge. Therefore, its navigation software determined and displayed the distance and angle between the pier and the hull of the ship.
A second crewless ship was tested this month by the foundation. Suzaku, built in 2019 and recently converted to be autonomous, sailed from Tokyo Bay to Ise Bay.
Despite its ambitious goal of 50 percent autonomy, Japan isn’t the first nation to experiment with autonomous ships. Norway started testing a small electric container ship in 2018 called Yara Birkeland, which is undergoing additional testing before being certified for commercial use. As part of a partnership with Intel announced in 2018, Rolls Royce is developing a system called Intelligent Awareness that allows ships to navigate autonomously without human assistance.
Several companies and countries are developing autonomous shipping technology. However, the next step is to develop regulations for seafaring vessels. This is because they won’t be able to leave coastal waters until international rules are in place for their operation.