Hokuren Maru No. 2: The first fully autonomous ship

Japanese innovations in shipbuilding

The legendary company Kawasaki Kisen Laisha, Ltd., better known simply as Kawasaki, completed demonstration tests of the world's first fully autonomous cargo ship at the end of November 2023.

The Japanese decided to focus on automating the ship's navigation system, as well as prepare for the creation of more advanced models, the development of which, according to insiders, is already underway. 

Source: MarineTraffic

The purpose of the demonstration tests is to prepare society and the maritime community for the fact that automated ships will soon become the norm and commonplace. As in the case of neural networks, which today can write code for programmers, draw for artists and write for writers, automation has also reached shipbuilding. In the new technological time, it will be important for sailors to adapt to new conditions. And although widespread digitalization is still far away, today there is reason to think.

Development of the idea of automation

A new autonomous navigation system has been installed on board the Hokuren Maru No. 2 with a displacement of 11,413 tons. The system developers characterized the current stage of testing as Proof of Concept (PoC) – i.e. proof of concept.

On the bridge of Hokuren Maru No. 2. Source: K Line

The test itself, which took place last month, involved three flights along a route with a total length of 1,600 km. The route passed between two Japanese ports, Hitachi and Kushiro. All three flights went without any problems. The autonomous navigation system showed high accuracy in environmental analysis and route prediction. 

Naturally, the testing of the system was carried out under the strict supervision of an experienced team of sailors who were ready at any time to come to the rescue of the automated skipper. The crew continued to maintain watch and maintain the ship, as well as carry out navigation calculations. 

Right: The white ellipse shows a busy maritime area with a risk of collision, the green line shows the safe route established by the system. Left: the entire route. Source: K Line

According to the test results, the automated system together with the crew showed a very high average performance rating. The efficiency indicator was 96%, which is almost ideal for the chosen route.

Kawasaki will continue to work on the system as well as promote the use of the technology on a larger scale. 

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16.12.2023