Unmanned cargo ships could become a reality on our oceans within the decade, according to manufacturer Rolls-Royce. The firm has been showing off the designs for its concept crewless ships.
Experts remain divided over whether such vessels will become a reality due to technical, piratical, naval, practical maintenance, maritime union, political, and legal difficulties.
Would require amending the IMO SOLAS treaty, (particularly Chapter V - Safety of navigation) among many other international regulations.
IMO | International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974
IMO, International Convention On Salvage, 1989
Rolls-Royce envisions crewless drone freight ships | Digital Trends
MUNIN
MUNIN | MUNIN – Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence in Networks
Project MUNIN – Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence in
Networks – is a collaborative research project, co-funded by the
European Commissions under its Seventh Framework Programme. MUNIN aims
to develop and verify a concept for an autonomous ship, which is defined
as a vessel primarily guided by automated on-board decision systems but
controlled by a remote operator in a shore side control station. |
| Bulk carriers could be the first ships to operate in unmanned mode |
the MUNIN Project is forecasting considerable savings both in costs and in emissions with the operation of unmanned ships. The project is focusing on research into operation of bulk carriers at this stage, because this is the type of ship offering greatest potential benefits to accrue, and where there would be reduced risk in terms of public acceptability in terms of an accident thanks to lower risk of pollution.
Improved Navigation
The research into unmanned operation is focused on several areas. The onboard navigation requirements would demand a considerable advancement on current systems. Position fixing and route following systems are well advanced with current ECDIS systems coupled to autopilots but duplication and back up systems would be necessary. Back up satellite systems in addition to GPS are coming on stream so reliable position fixing should not pose problems, and it is suggested that when operating in constricted waters there would be a human intervention with a transit crew put on board.
Collision Avoidance
One of the main challenges will be in the detection of other vessels and taking avoiding action as required by the Collision Regs. Current radar systems have impressive detection capability but this can deteriorate in rough sea conditions. There are other detection systems available, such as low light TV and infrared systems. It would appear that the solution might lie in combining the various detection systems into one harmonious whole to ensure that even small craft can be detected in adverse conditions.
Weather Routing and Rough Seas
Weather routing and safe operation in rough sea conditions throws up another challenge and this could entail introducing stress gauges and other measurements into the requirements. Weather routing is a well established science but relating this to the actual influence of the weather on board the ship without a human assessment may be a challenge.
Current ship operations entail the human operation of items such as the main engine and the auxiliaries as and when required. Advanced control systems will be required for the unmanned ship to allow the speed to be varied according to conditions and machinery such as the generators, steering engine and the windlass to be operated by remote control. This will require advanced monitoring and control systems able to detect impending faults and to find solutions.
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