Posted on 09/11/2014 6:19:57 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Researchers based in Norway believe that in around 10 years time cargo ships will have the technology to sail the seas without the need of a captain or crew.
Marintek, part of the SINTEF group based in Norway, is one of a number of partners working on developing systems which can operate without the need for humans. The "Seatonomy" project is looking to have ships sailing without human crews in the next 10 to 20 years.
The 12 million kroner ($1.9 million) research investment by SINTEF could actually improve ship safety as human error causes more than 75 percent of today’s vessel accidents.
Researcher Ørnulf Rødseth said on ScienceNordic.com: “There aren’t many willing to believe it, but if the project partners succeed in overcoming the challenges we are currently working with, vessels such as this will in fact be safer than many of those on the high seas today.”
The team are looking at integrating satellite communications and anti-collision technology to create ships that sail themselves. The major focus is on creating a system that is safe enough to satisfy the industry.
"There is a lot of talk about the costs issue, as well as the concerns of shipowners and the general public. We mustn’t forget that current rules and legislation all assume that there are people on board”, Rødseth said.
He added: “Safety is key across all these fields, and the systems developed must be cost-effective. We’re talking about vessels moving slowly across the open ocean meeting very little in the way of traffic. Radar will keep an eye on everything going on."
Skipperless ships may also help the shipping industry become more sustainable as the supply of willing on-board workers decreases, but the volume of goods being transported rises.
Unmanned vessels can also save on fuel consumption and reduce harmul emissions as their speeds can be reduced. Fuel is the single highest operational cost in the merchant shipping industry.
It is hoped any autonomous technology for sea-vessels could benefit the merchant, aquaculture, the offshore wind and subsea exploration industries.
There are more than a hundred thousand merchant ships in operation around the world.
Yes, particularly salvage law. It'd be kind of a bummer to have some guy put-put up to the thing, board it, and claim ownership of a perfectly functioning vessel. And win.
There will, of course, be limitations to the applicability of such a vessel. I recall what it was like to enter Hong Kong harbor. Absolute insane chaos and you had to double the lookouts and pray that mama-san in a junk wouldn't suddenly decide she had right of way in a narrow channel. Yes, human error is largely responsible for maritime disaster but it's often somebody else's.
Pirates will learn how to hack.
........On a ship or a large recreational boat, things constantly break down and someone has to go to a storage locker, find the replacement part, and go fix it! Most of the time “Shit happens” and he can’t fix it for one reason or another OR must improvise.
So,while the idea of not one person on a huge ship is a good goal I guess I just don’t believe we will ever see it.
What about a harbor pilot? He still must board and run the ship. What controls will he use?
However, the real impact will be in yacht racing. Imagine sitting at the Buckeye Lake YC bar* while one's intrepid Thistle takes club honors with no one aboard! The race can be pre-programmed, or one could run the boat from the bar with laptop and joystick. (Try the Croque Monsieur and a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon.)
BTW, one should not concern oneself with piracy. Drones can be armed and have already sent many an un-Worthy Oriental Gentleman to his 72 Virgins from the air. Why not from the sea?
LOL
Can’t wait until some little 12 year old hacks it and sends it to ports unknown. What’s worse would be thieves rerouting it to steal the cargo. Arr, pirates wouldn’t have any worries, yee haw!
I’m sure this will put companies shipping millions of dollars worth of freight at ease.
“B-O-A-T: Break Out Another Thousand”
Not sure if it would encourage or deter pirates. No crew to take hostage. On-board sensors could be used to lock down ship and alert local naval units. Trying to get cargo off a fast moving container ship would be problematic. All they could do is threaten to blow the ship.
Why.....they make their money on ransom.
Some threats fall for a human response.
Some guy thousands of miles away awakes with a start when the alarm goes off on the satellite console. Surveying his multiple monitors, he sees that pirates have boarded the vessel and are trying to get into the engine room. So, he clicks a button to drop the cyanide. A week later, the vessel arrives at its destination and is boarded by a special cleanup crew.
These so-called experts have obviously never been to sea before.
And I recall the guy from IBM who suggested that there might be a need for two, maybe three computers worldwide.
Nothing that is mentioned in the comments is insurmountable.
Progress is coming. People on board ships are a huge expense and a huge liability. Consider the costs associated with housing and maintaining crew. If you can recover the space, and eliminate the expense it is possible to overcome ALL of the concerns.
I bet you will see shipping go from outside of Port A to Port B, with crew coming on to bring the ships into the docks.
Repairs and what not can be centralized en route to service multiple ships.
Insurance rates would drop to cover just the ship and the freight. No more workers comp, no more liability insurance.
Does anyone reading this article think the folks working this plan have not already done the work on these issues?
Change is exciting. Unless you are a maritime engineer.
That was My first thought as well. What bloody moron thought this one up?
Oxy-Acetalene torch. At least after the first one is found this way. Then it will be standard gear for all pirates.
Work done with what motivation?
Ford executives and engineers did work on fixing the Pinto explosion vulnerability, and decided the cost of paying for lawsuits by people burned to death was cheaper than fixing the bolt position that killed them.
So what's the motivation for gutting the merchant marine industry? You really think it's benign? I don't. Not to mention scale. Problems where humans are available enables stopping any issue from scaling up. Problems with no humans will obviously have serious and potentially unstoppable scaling issues - up to and including an LNG ship off course and headed for a huge city harbor, while being controlled by a hacker, terrorist organization or belligerant country.
Now ask yourself, do you think the only people working such problems were immoral Ford executives who are now retired? Or are there bean counters calculating profit percentages based on allowing a limited number of LNG explosions and resulting burnings of entire cities and the deaths of thousands of people? Take one guess.
And that's only one scenario. Ever look at the SIZE of a tanker ship?
this will make the life of pirates a hell of a lot easier.
Pirate’s dream!
Drug smugglers are already using unmanned ships that are mostly submerged.
With all the regulations, legal use is a latecomer.
An intermediate step would be to have a one person crew of captain/engineer, “just in case” There are plenty of people who would take the job.
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