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ClassNK awards first MASS notation to coastal container ship
A Japanese class society has granted a notation to a feeder container ship built in Japan for semi-autonomous voyages between islands and the nation’s ports
ClassNK has become the first classification society to grant a notation for an autonomous container ship built for coastal routes, with crew monitoring its performance.
Japanese Kyokuyo Shipyard built Genbu with an autonomous navigation system installed for transporting containers on medium- to long-distance coastal routes.
Suzuyo Marine will operate this ship, and Ikous will manage and handle it under a Nippon Foundation project.
ClassNK has granted its Auto-Nav2 (All) notation, marking the world’s first case of an autonomous navigation notation being assigned to a vessel operating on these routes.
This notation indicates that the bridge systems on Genbu will autonomously navigate the container ship from berth to berth, but it will be monitored by crew who can take control of the vessel if there are any issues.
By obtaining this notation, Genbu demonstrated its safe, reliable automated navigation technologies.
Genbu was constructed under the Nippon Foundation’s MEGURI 2040 fully autonomous ship programme, which supports the implementation of autonomous navigation systems through safety verification.
ClassNK used its Guidelines for Automated/Autonomous Operation of Ships as reference for granting this notation. These guidelines outline the requirements for each stage of ship construction and operations, including conceptual design, design development, installation, and maintenance during the operation of automated/autonomous operation technologies.
Genbu was granted the auto-navigation notation as Japan seeks to build autonomous ships for daily voyages to many of the nation’s inhabited remote islands as it becomes harder to crew these vessels.
The MEGURI 2040 fully autonomous ship programme is part of its ongoing research and development related to technology for autonomous surface ships in Japan.
Meanwhile, Wah Kwong Maritime Transport has taken delivery of Frontier Venture, an LR2 tanker, the first vessel in Wah Kwong’s SMART-enabled vessel series to demonstrate Group 3 augmented-ship capabilities.
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