Svitzer Europe managing director Kasper Friis Nilaus discusses remote navigation technology for harbour tugs, while others are developing similar technology
Svitzer Europe managing director Kasper Friis Nilaus discusses remote navigation technology for harbour tugs, while others are developing similar technology
Future navigation will include shore-based remote control for some vessels and more levels of autonomous operations for others. The first trials and experience of remote control involve tugboats of up to 30 m in length due to their size, availability, manoeuvrability and ease of operation.
Maersk Group subsidiary Svitzer, one of the world’s largest towage companies, is an early leader in testing technology and classification requirements for remotely controlling tugs. Over the past two years, Svitzer has trialled technology with partners Kongsberg (formerly Rolls-Royce) and classification society Lloyd’s Register on a harbour tug using an onshore control centre in Denmark.
Maritime Digitalisation & Communications witnessed early trials with Svitzer Hermod in 2017 and was introduced to the latest remote control centre, by then Rolls-Royce, in 2018.
Svitzer Europe managing director Kasper Friis Nilaus tells MDC that further trials in tug remote control are likely to influence developments for autonomous navigation of merchant ships.
Mr Nilaus says Svitzer’s investment in this technology was influenced by the sensory and computer-based navigation in the car industry.
“The desire to pursue innovative ways to operate has led Svitzer to tap into the macro trend of autonomous technologies,” he explains. “The autonomous agenda has been an integrated part of the car industry for many years, but over the years we have learned that implementing the technology entails large complexities,” Mr Nilaus says.
He thinks some of the technologies will be implemented in maritime industries as elements have in the car industry, such as using proximity sensors and self-docking.
“Using slices of the technology allows [ship operators] to enjoy the benefits of the technology while legislation and infrastructure adjust to the new reality,” he says.
“So, while many in our industry fixate on autonomy, towage in my opinion is likely to see many iterative improvements in coming years, as witnessed with the car industry.”
“We see innovation as an opportunity for creating real business advantage and as a means to differentiate services”
One of these will be technology that improves navigational safety through enhanced situational awareness in the wheelhouse.
“We think of innovation as something that impacts future decisions related to safety enhancements, as well as commercial and operational setups,” he says.
“We see innovation as an opportunity for creating real business advantage and as a means to differentiate services.”
For example, adopting situational awareness technology increases safety at sea. “The technology allows the captain to safely navigate the challenges of fog or adverse weather, reducing the risk exposure tremendously,” says Mr Nilaus.
Intelligent navigation
Incremental developments along the voyage towards autonomous shipping will produce further improvements in intelligent navigation technology.
“The message is clear: empirical innovation is not an all-or-nothing process,” says Mr Nilaus. “There are meaningful improvements to be realised across our entire industry, be those for safety, environmental improvements, new services or operational efficiency.”
He thinks remote control and autonomous innovations tested now “will create a more intelligent, integrated industry” that is “working smarter and complying with customer demands” and adapting to future challenges.
Svitzer, with its partners, continues to test technologies for remote control operations. Trials over the last 18 months include more sensor input, such as engine noise and vibrations, to provide extra information to remote control masters.
Mr Nilaus says a potential application for remote control technology on tugs is navigating a vessel between ports from the shore operations centre to rest crew so they are ready for an eight-hour shift when they arrive in port.
He thinks other towage companies and shipowners can identify similar applications in different shipping sectors.
“Instead of worrying about change on the horizon, operators have a chance to be inspired by these impending technology shifts”
“Instead of worrying about change on the horizon, operators have a chance to be inspired by these impending technology shifts,” says Mr Nilaus.
He says Svitzer continues to see opportunities for proactive collaboration with partners across the industry and the world. “Towage operators have unique opportunities to proactively lead change” because of the type of vessels they operate.
“To fully realise the operational and commercial benefits for towage, our industry must be prepared to actively play our part as the wider maritime industry advances in new directions,” Mr Nilaus concludes.
Dutch trials’ success
Kotug International is another tug owner trialling remote control technology from its centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It has also demonstrated remote control of a tug over 1,000 km from a facility in Marseille, France, in 2018.
Kotug controlled 16-m training Rotortug, Borkum, in the Netherlands, using a 360˚ bridge simulator in Marseille. In later trials, this tug was controlled from a simulator at Kotug’s Tug Training & Consultancy’s centre in the Netherlands.
“The purpose of this project is to gain knowledge in creating situational awareness on a remote bridge”
“The purpose of this project is to gain knowledge in creating situational awareness on a remote bridge,” says Kotug manager for fleet performance and innovation Koos Smoor. “Development and testing are ongoing with our focus on being able to remotely control a fire-fighting tug.”
Kotug won Riviera Maritime Media’s Autonomous & Remote Operations Award in May this year for this innovation. The long range of the test and its importance for further developing remote control technology was noted by the judges’ panel.
Kotug uses real-time sensor technology to monitor the position and surroundings, which provides the remote-control captain with the situational awareness needed for safely operating the training tug.
Remote testing worldwide
Rosetti Marino and Purple Water have used a remotely operated tug for commercial towage.
Masters controlled 26-m double-ended tugboat Giano in October 2018 to tow a barge in the Mediterranean using the VSAT and 4G connectivity provided by Leonardo Finmeccanica subsidiary Telespazio. Data from onboard sensors and video from cameras were transmitted to the remote bridge during demonstrations over the past 18 months.
To achieve this, there are two encrypted internet tunnels for cyber-secure connection between Lloyd’s Register-certified Giano and the remote bridge.
Rossetti adapted this technology to manoeuvre superyachts between moorings and harbours.
In the United Arab Emirates, technology to remotely control workboats and defence vessels was demonstrated by Al Marakeb Boat Manufacturing Co in Q1 2019.
The technology was developed with autonomous system providers and another boat builder as part of the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 programme.
Al Marakeb remotely operated 13-m unmanned surface vessel (USV), AHM13, built by Al Hareb Marine, over 70 km.
This vessel was remotely controlled using MAP Pro autonomous technology, which relays engine diagnostics, route management, a live camera feed, radar screens and an obstacle warning alarm in real-time from the USV to the command centre.
Snapshot CV: Kasper Friis Nilaus
Employed by Svitzer since 2007, Kasper Friis Nilaus is a highly proficient leader within the towage industry. Since the beginning of 2017, Mr Nilaus has been managing director of Svitzer Europe, the largest among four regions within Svitzer. As region head, he manages a fleet of 137 vessels around Europe, including in Scandinavia, the UK, Germany, the Benelux countries and in Georgia.
Over the years with Svitzer, Mr Nilaus has held several global positions within the business development and commercial space, including as global chief commercial officer. He is educated as a lawyer topped with an MBA in finance and business strategy. Before joining Svitzer, he practised law in a Copenhagen-based law firm.
Singapore invests in remote control vessel technology
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is developing the technology to remotely control harbour vessels.
Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) is working with Keppel Offshore & Marine (O&M)’s subsidiary Keppel Singmarine to produce an autonomous tug operated by Keppel Smit Towage.
This is part of a wider programme to develop autonomous vessels for harbour operations such as channelling, berthing, mooring and towing. Keppel O&M is working with the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS), on this project.
Keppel O&M will upgrade an existing tug, which has 52 tonnes of bollard pull, by retrofitting bridge systems with collision detection and avoidance, digital pilot vision and position manoeuvring devices.
An onshore command centre will be built to remotely control the tug through integration and connectivity with onboard positioning and manoeuvring systems.
Keppel O&M’s technology arm, Keppel Marine and Deepwater Technology, will co-operate with MPA and TCOMS to develop technologies and system integration for the autonomous solutions.
Classification society ABS will provide approvals-in-principle for the technical features, such as remote navigation control and autonomous control systems.
Keppel O&M will use M1’s low latency 4.5G network connectivity to transfer data between the test tug and the shore centre.
Wärtsilä is working with PSA Marine on developing intelligent tug technology
In a separate project, Wärtsilä and PSA Marine are working on the IntelliTug to test technical systems that can assist masters in collision detection and avoidance and virtual anchoring with enhanced situational awareness at night and in complex conditions.
The first trials will be conducted on PSA Polaris, a Robert Allan-designed harbour tug built by Cheoy Lee Shipyard to operate in the Pasir Panjang container terminals.
Wärtsilä Voyage Solutions is creating a digital simulation of PSA Polaris in Singapore, which will be used to test capabilities in both real-life recorded situations and imagined scenarios.
Wärtsilä’s dynamic positioning team will install an advanced marine-grade sensor suite and joystick manoeuvring system on the tug. These are integrated in a human-centric smart navigation module that provides collision avoidance advice and navigation support during tugboat transit and when at anchorage. Teams on the digital simulator will access this information and control the joystick.
Smart navigation information is intended to assist tug masters in daily operations around busy terminals and the crowded waters around Singapore’s ports. The project is a testbed of these technologies, combining Wärtsilä’s systems with PSA masters’ tug operating experience.
PSA Marine head of fleet management Bernard Wong says tug masters will maintain control, with additional information and advice from IntelliTug. “There are many instances in towage operations where we feel the tug master is still very much needed,” he says. “They rely a lot on their skills and the training provided, and even their instincts. But we believe more can be done to aid tug masters in their day-to-day work.”
This will include the ability to “fuse sensor data and incorporate it into a human-centric interface that will allow tug masters to digest and make sense of all the information more easily.”
IntelliTug is also a testbed for smart navigation regulations
IntelliTug is also a testbed for smart navigation regulations, with the MPA using data and lessons from the project for developing the appropriate regulatory framework. Lloyd’s Register is providing expertise and insights to ensure potential technology risks are identified, managed and mitigated.
Once installations are completed, the next step in IntelliTug is to test the technology with the tug’s capabilities in a virtual environment before it is released into the testbed.
Wärtsilä is conducting user-tests during Q3 2019 with a tug simulator before implementing the third stage of IntelliTug, testing on PSA Polaris in Singapore.
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