The first autonomous offshore support vessels could be in operation in 2018 as technology leaders develop them for various offshore applications. There are also developments in remote control tugs, as interest in unmanned operations increases. The benefits of using unmanned vessels would be a reduction of the risks to offshore workers, the removal of some elements of human error and lower operating costs.
Kongsberg Maritime, Rolls-Royce, Damen Shipyards Group and DNV GL presented their expectations of developments in autonomous vessels at Riviera’s Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference in London in February. Kongsberg is probably the closest to launching a commercial autonomous vessel. It is collaborating with the UK’s Automated Ships on the world’s first unmanned vessel for offshore operations, to be named Hrönn. That vessel could be in operation in 2018.
Kongsberg executive vice president for global sales and marketing Stene Førsund said that initially Hrönn would be capable of light offshore duties in a remote control mode. But eventually it could be fully autonomous. He described the technologies that enable autonomous vessels. “Digitisation expands the scope for the remote control of vessels and we are developing algorithms for autonomous operations,” he said.
Kongsberg vice president for maritime digital platforms Matt Duke described some of the technologies that would enable autonomous vessels. He listed the internet of things, cloud services, big data analytics, remote services, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, 3D visualisation and cyber security as key technology trends. “In cyber-physical interactions, the internet of things and cyber secure networks are essential. For autonomous vessels, we need high levels of quality assurance, redundancy and the use of standard equipment to reduce any issues. We need to validate equipment before it goes into service and we need to use condition-based maintenance during service,” said Mr Duke.
DNV GL is involved with Kongsberg in the Hrönn project, and in other autonomous vessel developments. This was highlighted during a presentation by Bjørn-Johan Vartdal, the class society's programme director for strategic research and innovation. He described the rule requirements for autonomous and remotely controlled vessels. He also suggested that human interaction should remain part of the process in some form, whether for supervisory purposes or for making offshore decisions.
DNV GL is also working with Rolls-Royce and Inmarsat in the development of autonomous vessel technology. Rolls-Royce vice president of innovation, engineering and technology Oskar Levander described how unmanned cargo supply vessels and control units for remotely operated vehicles could be developed. He predicted that one of these would be taken into operation by 2020.
Mr Levander expects that the early steps will be taken in the form of the remote monitoring and control of engineroom systems and semi-autonomous navigation functions. He added that more intelligent vessels could improve operations, enhance safety by reducing the human error factor, and lower operating costs.
He presented the concept of an autonomous supply vessel, which would be used to ship small cargoes out to platforms on a daily basis. “We can afford to do this, if we do not have many people involved,” Mr Levander said. “We lower costs, we do not need crew, and we optimise cargo flow.” He also presented a concept for an autonomous surface vessel for deploying remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). “It would be a floating power and communications unmanned vessel that is remotely controlled from shore. This means that ROVs would be operated from shore. This could transform offshore operations and lower operating expenditure.”
Damen Shipyards research and development project manager Bas Blaak described how the company was developing many of the technologies that would be required for remotely controlled and autonomous vessels. “By defining the levels of autonomy intelligently it is possible to define a logical and organic road map towards an autonomous vessel,” he said. “We are developing the concept of an autonomous platform supply vessel with reduced size, but carrying the same payload,” he concluded.
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