Autonomous Ships Market Trends

The development of new autonomous naval vessels with the advancement of technologies and the incorporation of sensor systems in commercial vessels, like cargo vehicles, passenger ferries, and other platforms, are anticipated to propel the growth of autonomy in the commercial segment. Integration of autonomy is a costly and slow process, especially in the maritime industry, as the adoption rate of new technologies is relatively slower compared to other transportation systems. Therefore, commercial operators are starting with remote-controlled vessels and making long term plans to replace traditional ships with autonomous ships. Some of the liner shipping companies, like Maersk, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd, and cruise operators have established remote operating centers (ROCs) for their fleets for several years. These help in monitoring the data on the bridge and assist the crew on board in operating the vessel. Additionally, Yara Birkeland is an autonomous 120 TEU container ship, which is currently under construction. Yara International plans to launch manned vessels in 2020 initially. With steady implementations of autonomous functions, the vessel is anticipated to perform autonomous unmanned operations by 2022. Some of the companies are collaborating with technology providers and accelerating the development of new autonomous ships. For instance, Rolls Royce, one of the pioneers of the autonomous technology, successfully demonstrated Falco, the world’s first fully autonomous ferry, in December 2018 in collaboration with Finferries, the Finnish state-owned ferry operator.