Rolls Royce to head up autonomous ship project

Funded by Finnish technology agency Tekes, the aim of the so-called Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative is to produce specifications and preliminary designs for the next generation of advanced ship solutions.

The concept of unmanned ships has been criticised by many in the shipping industry, but Rolls Royce and others believe that autonomous ships could have a number of advantages in both defence and commercial applications. The absence of a need to accommodate crew, for instance, could lead to fundamental redesigns of ships and potentially help marine freight transport – which is responsible for twice the level of CO2 emissions produced by aviation - become much more efficient.

The project, which will run until 2017, will bring together universities, ship designers, equipment manufacturers, and classification societies to explore the economic, social, legal, regulatory and technological factors which need to be addressed to make autonomous ships a reality.