Rolls-Royce and Svitzer demonstrated technologies for remotely controlling tugs, while Wärtsilä and Navtor trialled this on other workboats
Further developments in remote control of workboats, including tugs, are expected to come in 2018 as technology providers, such as Rolls-Royce, Wärtsilä and Navtor, want to progress beyond their initial pilot projects.
In 2017, Rolls-Royce collaborated with Danish tug owner Svitzer to develop a method of controlling a harbour tug from a remote control room. Tug Technology & Business witnessed this in action in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 16 November 2017 when a tug master successfully controlled the 2016-built terminal tug Svitzer Hermod from a shore-based operations centre in Svitzer’s offices.
He was able to manoeuvre the Sanmar-built tug using a Rolls-Royce dynamic positioning (DP) system on the vessel and could visualise the environment around the tug through 120˚ of screens that displayed live camera footage that was augmented with a range of navigational and situation awareness information.
All of the tug handling and display controls were accessible from the controller’s chair. One significant difference from controlling the vessel from the bridge was that the tug operator was not able to feel any of the sensations of being in control. However, according to Svitzer group technical and innovation manager Thomas Bangslund, this will be added in a second phase of testing for the remote control technology.
“We will be introducing sensory elements, such as noise and vibration into the remote operating centre,” he told Tug Technology & Business, by “adding more augmented reality to provide better information to the operator.”
“We will be introducing sensory elements, such as noise and vibration into the remote operating centre”
Svitzer and Rolls-Royce added sensors on Svitzer Hermod to deliver navigation and situation awareness information to the controller. This included adding Lidar laser scanning, multiple cameras, night-vision thermal cameras, DP radar-scan, multiple mobile phone network transceivers and satellite communications.
This was on top of the existing Furuno radar and ECDIS feeds that are transmitted directly from the tug over various 3G and 4G cellular connections to the control room. Svitzer Hermod also has two Global Xpress Ka-band antennas, supplied by Cobham Satcom, for communications when the tug is outside the mobile phone networks. There are also motion reference units and GPS for the DP system.
Mr Bangslund expects there will be further technology demonstrations in 2018 as Svitzer uses its experience to enhance operations across the fleet. He explained that technology could be used for resting seafarers while a tug is sailing between different countries and ports, adding “we can have a rested crew when the tug arrives on site”.
The augmented reality developed for the remote control room could also be used on vessel bridges of tugs to deliver more information to masters. The camera technology could be adapted for bridge use to assist in navigation and towing, while thermal cameras enhance fire-fighting capabilities.
Mr Bangslund explained that data from tug operations could be used to improve the performance of captains – using data from the motion reference unit in the engineroom combined with towage operating data to provide advice to masters. Other operational data can also be used to help captains improve the performance of tugs.
Svitzer chief operating officer Leonardo Sonzio said some of the technology achievements from these tests will benefit tug operations by improving efficiency, reliability and safety and speed of port turnarounds. However, there needs to be more validation “before we decide to go for the next step on our exploratory journey,” he said.
“We will extract the benefits for existing operations, such as developing better situational awareness”
“We will extract the benefits for existing operations, such as developing better situational awareness,” he explained in a presentation. Another benefit could be reducing workloads on tug crews, he said, “which means higher activity levels and throughput in ports, which would be a practical benefit for our customers.”
Mr Sonzio expects any validated technology could be disseminated throughout the Maersk Group – of which Svitzer is a member – such as improving situation awareness through augmented reality on Maersk Line’s container ships. However, he thinks cyber security, insurance and a business case need to be in place before Svitzer will invest in implementing remote tug operations on a commercial basis.
Svitzer Hermod particulars
Rolls-Royce Marine senior vice president for concepts, innovation and digital systems, Oskar Levander, expects remote control technology could lead to development of autonomous tugs. But there are technical challenges still to be overcome.
“We have demonstrated the situation awareness for navigation and operations for ship assistance,” he said in November 2017, “but how do we autonomously hook up ropes?” He expects developments in robotics will provide the technology for handling mooring ropes remotely.
Workboat trials
Vessel remote control technologies were tested by Wärtsilä Marine Solutions in August 2017, when an operator in San Diego, USA, manoeuvred a platform supply vessel in the North Sea. GulfMark Offshore’s Highland Chieftain, which had a Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum package for navigation, automation and DP, was controlled from the California office.
Additional software was temporarily added to the vessel’s DP system to route data over its satellite broadband link to the remote workstation. From there, the controller was able to sail the vessel through a sequence of manoeuvres during the four-hour test using a combination of DP and manual joystick control.
This technology could be used on tugs that have DP control systems on board. Wärtsilä Marine Solutions president Roger Holm expects more remote control and position prediction technologies will come from the company’s smart marine programme.
Technologies that could come from this strategy include e-navigation, smart vessel operations, greater data analytics, optimised energy management and faster port operations
He said other technologies that could come from this strategy include e-navigation, smart vessel operations, greater data analytics, optimised energy management and faster port operations. He added that Wärtsilä was committed to developing this technology further, hinting that there would be further tests in 2018.
In another research project, Navtor remotely controlled a pilot vessel in a German port in November 2017. It was working with Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering (CPSE) Labs, which is an EU-funded consortium of partners that are researching cloud-based technologies across different sectors.
A Navtor team controlled the vessel from a shore-based bridge and successfully tested route planning, voyage monitoring and transferring safety-critical navigation functions from the vessel to shore. To achieve this, Navtor set up a desktop of three e-navigation displays – ECDIS, a conning station and its own NavStation – along with a wall of displays showing an overview of surrounding vessels and camera views of outside the vessel.
All of the information between the vessel and the shore was communicated through mobile phone 3G or 4G networks.
All of the information between the vessel and the shore was communicated through mobile phone 3G or 4G networks. A first step during this test was a safety check on ECDIS before the navigator on board the test vessel sailed it out of port.
Once in open water, he handed control to the shore-based bridge, where its voyage was monitored using a camera feed and the vessel was controlled using the NavStation. During the test, the vessel was heading towards a collision with a buoy. The shore-based operator controlled the vessel around the hazard using a touchscreen workstation.
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