Key Enabling Technologies News

Kongsberg Maritime said Friday it had completed a live trial of autonomous shipping technology in Bornem, Belgium, demonstrating the company's progress in fully autonomous systems.The test vessel, Zulu 4, an inland waterway barge owned by Blue Line Logistics NV, is equipped for remote-operated and autonomous transport demonstrations for the AUTOSHIP project, which is part of Horizon 2020, an EU research program.As part of the test, Zulu 4 maneuvered and navigated on unrestricted waterways, and it demonstrated berthing and unberthing capability.

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime said Friday it had successfully demonstrated a range of remote and autonomous technologies on a cargo vessel operating off the coast of Norway.The test cruise has been named one of the most complex autonomous journeys at sea so far, Kongsberg Maritime said.The Eidsvaag Pioner is one of the two vessels that are equipped for remote-operated and autonomous transport demonstrations for the AUTOSHIP project, which is part of Horizon 2020, an EU research program.Owned by the Eidsvaag shipping company…

While merriam-webster.com is succinct in its definition of ‘autonomous’, ask 10 people in the maritime sector what ‘autonomous’ vessel means to them and the responses vary widely. Achieving autonomous, unmanned operations is not high, today, on the agenda of many (if any) shipowners. What does command their attention? Building ships that are increasingly ‘smart,’ with integrated, connected systems that take on additional decision-making processes while helping to reduce crew size (and cost)…

A six meter long, 2.4 ton model of the final design of the autonomous and fully electric container vessel Yara Birkeland was revealed as testing commenced at SINTEF Ocean’s 80 meter test tank facility in Trondheim, September 28, 2017. It was also revealed that ENOVA, a Norwegian government enterprise responsible for promotion of environmentally friendly production and consumption of energy will support the project with a NOK 133 million ($16.7 million) financial contribution.

For thousands of years sailors have looked out to sea, anticipating the motion of their craft from the waves they see coming. The nature of this constant motion, phasing in and out with the groups of waves, influences the safety of operations, from moving about the deck or rigging to transferring people and materials between craft. Waves and the resulting motions are a key factor in deciding whether to perform an operation. Could you do better than your eyeball for predicting when that next big wave is going to knock you off your feet? When the U.S.

The four-year SEAFRONT project, launched in 2014, has trialled new processes and methods designed to increase scientific understanding of exactly how biofouling occurs and how this problem can best be addressed. This initial work will help in the development of a new generation of anti-biofouling technologies, which will be able to effectively minimise biofouling on marine infrastructure and tools without damaging the ecosystem. ‘Although it is still a little early to report on concrete results, we have already received interest from a number of companies looking for innovative antifouling solutions for their boats, stationary applications, fishing nets and cables,’ says SEAFRONT project coordinator Dr Arie Brouwer from the Stichting Dutch Polymer Institute in the Netherlands.

Innovative renewables company, Sustainable Marine Technologies (SMT), is restructuring its operations to take on today’s greatest challenge to ocean renewable energy – the high costs of device deployment and maintenance access. The dynamic marine integration engineering company, which only last year was nominated for Best Newcomer in the international Tidal Awards, will now become a technology developer. It has set itself the specific goal of developing a new generation of deployment and access solutions to create a major step change in reducing costs…