First autonomous manoeuvring vessel trials held on North Sea
A series of autonomous operations trials were held on the North Sea on March 19 and 20, about five nautical miles off the coast of Den Helder in the Netherlands. SeaZip 3, a Damen Fast Crew Supplier 2610 Twin Axe vessel from SeaZip Offshore Services, was outfitted with collision avoidance technology and took part in several nautical scenarios to determine how the vessel would interact with seagoing traffic.
The trials are part of the Joint Industry Project Autonomous Shipping, a two-year research project started in 2017. 11 scenarios were run in which SeaZip 3 interacted with two other vessels, Octans, a training vessel of the Maritime Institute Willem Barentsz, and Guardian, an Emergency Towage Vessel operated by The Netherlands Coastguard. These scenarios are the outcome of research by Technical University of Delft, MARIN and TNO. The scenarios were first tested in the MARIN simulator center in Wageningen.
The autonomous system provided by Robosys Automation, connected to the onboard autopilot and machinery control system, performed evasive maneuvers safely, but it was concluded that further development of autonomous systems is needed, to cope with complex marine traffic situations in a more efficient way.
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