News & Publications
Autonomous Ships
For hundreds of years there have been stories of unmanned ships or “ghosts ships” as they are frequently referred to, and now, due to technology, they are they are going to be a reality in the near future. Companies like Yara & Kongsberg and Rolls Royce are working to make autonomous shipping happen. Yara & Kongsberg’s Yara Birkeland will be ready by 2018 to take voyages with a crew aboard and by 2020 it will be ready to sail on its own, without a crew.
One might wonder why there is a motivation to eliminate the crew. According to Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) in its Global Claims Review Liability in Focus, 75 to 96 percent of maritime incidents are caused by human error. Errors can range from fatigue or lack of training, to insufficient communication among the crew.
Being a sailor is an extremely high risk profession. In 2016, there were 191 recorded incidents of piracy attacks. Although that number is down from previous years, the danger is still very real. Piracy attacks include stealing the cargo, stealing the vessel and seriously wounding or even killing the crew, or kidnapping the crew to hold them for ransom or human trafficking.
The crew also accounts for approximately 44 percent of the ship lines expenses. In addition, they take up space that could be utilized for cargo and add to the weight of the vessel. A lighter vessel will produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Rolls Royce predicts that the lighter unmanned vessels will burn 15 percent less fuel. Remarkably, the Yara Birkeland will be fully electric and have zero emissions. Yara’s initial vessel testing will begin with short routes from their factory to ports about 16 miles away. They will transport fertilizer that is currently being hauled by diesel trucks. The use of the new vessel will eliminate roughly 40,000 diesel truck shipments yearly.
The technology involved in creating autonomous ships is very impressive. Rolls Royce offers an interesting vison into the future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg0A9Ve7SxE&index=5&list=PLk-17K0buHIvy68TGjnSUppTq-Gi91lT-
Pamela Leever
For more details about maritime crime attacks in 2016, please see the below links.
http://www.costanzireport.com/p/2016.html
https://www.ajot.com/news/ships-without-sailors-it-cant-happen-soon-enough.-adam-minter
https://www.statista.com/statistics/266292/number-of-pirate-attacks-worldwide-since-2006/
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