Japan Takes Essential Step in Second Stage of “MEGURI 2040” Project Toward Commercialization of Fully Autonomous Ships (2)
On December 12, 2023, ClassNK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai), Japan’s ship classification society, announced it had issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the “Advanced Maneuvering Assistant System,” the core technology for the autonomous navigation system used in the demonstration test by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) on the 1,600-kilometer round-trip route between Hitachi and Kushiro Ports.
The system automatically generates routes to avoid collisions with other ships on a monitored route when a collision with another ship is predicted due to OZT (Obstacle Zone by Target), and assists the operator in avoiding the collision.
The system takes into consideration COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea) and suggests up to two avoidance routes that will allow the ship to return to its original course line within one hour.
ClassNK carried out a review of a conceptual design of the system based on its “Guidelines for Automated/Autonomous Operation on ships” and issued the AiP upon confirming it complied with the prescribed requirements.
ClassNK, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that works on a range of services involving ships and preventing marine pollution, examines the design based on the existing regulations such as international conventions and ship classification rules and issues an AiP as proof of conformity with requirements.
Under the second stage of the “MEGURI 2040” project, more than 50 Japanese companies, comprising the country’s major shipping and shipbuilding as well as equipment manufacturing, communications, IT, insurance, research and other firms, have joined forces for what they claim to be an “All Japan” team.
In addition to the large RORO cargo ship, they will conduct demonstrations using three other types of ship: a newly-built full-package container ship with fully autonomous navigation, an existing container ship and a remote-island route ship retrofitted with some autonomous navigation capabilities.
I sincerely hope all these demonstrations will be successful, opening the way for putting autonomous ships into commercial service in 2025.
Currently, Japan’s domestic coastal shipping industry is grappling with the problem of an aging population of seafarers, more than half of whom are aged 50 and older, as well as a declining number of crew members working in the industry.
Under the circumstances, autonomous ships are expected to go a long way in reducing workloads and trimming operating costs. Besides, crewless navigation can also contribute to safety by reducing human error, which accounts for about 80% of marine accidents.
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