NYK to roll out Orca AI platform across fleet

Orca AI chief executive and co-founder Yarden Gross added, “We are excited to partner with tech leaders such as NYK, deepening our collaboration with the company and supporting its ongoing aim to be a central player in the shipping industry’s digital revolution.”

To date, Orca AI’s technology has already captured over 10M nautical miles of visual data. According to internal analysis across a sample of 110 vessels equipped with the company platform, Orca AI said its customers saw a 26.9% reduction in the number of close encounter events, a 21.6% decline in sharp manoeuvres, and an 18% reduction in extreme drops of speed.

Both companies have also completed a successful autonomous voyage trial in congested waters near Japan’s east coast through the Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ships consortium, which includes 30 Japanese firms. 

The NYK trial – known as the MEGURI2040 Project and supported by the Nippon Foundation – was carried out on Suzaku, a 749-gt autonomous container ship fitted with Orca’s artificial intelligence and deep-learning technology. Travelling from Tokyo Bay to the port of Tsumatsusaka in the Ise Bay, the vessel achieved 40 hours of navigation with complete autonomy for about 98% of the voyage.

The vessel automatically carried out 107 collision avoidance manoeuvres and avoided up to 500 ships using Orca’s safety navigation system. The platform provided real-time detection, tracking and range estimation through 18 cameras with panoramic views operating 24/7 in any conditions.   

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