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46 Svitzer HQ, before docking again. The  Svitzer Hermod was built in 2016 at the Sanmar yard in Turkey, and is equipped with a Rolls-Royce dynamic positioning system, which is the key link to the remote controlled system. The vessel is also equipped with a pair of MTU 16V4000 M63 diesel engines from Rolls-Royce, each rated at 2000 kW at 1800 rpm. The two companies are working on autonomous navigation, situational awareness, remote control centre and comms systems. The vessel also uses a range of sensors with the data transmitted securely to a remote operating centre (ROC) from where the captain controls the vessel. Instead of copying existing wheelhouse designs, the ROC used feedback from experienced captains to place the different system components in the optimum place to give the master confidence and control. That has reassured the regulators. “With autonomous ships likely to enter service soon, we have already set out the ‘how’ of marine autonomous operations in our cyber-enabled ShipRight procedure guidance, as it is vital that these technologies are implemented in a safe way and there is a route for compliance with regulations,” says Nick Brown, marine and offshore director at marine insurer Lloyd’s Register. “The lack of prescriptive rules was not a barrier for ‘de-risking’ the project, and we provided assurance against ShipRight while considering the safety implications associated with the first closed demonstration,” he says. However, throughout the demonstration the vessel had a fully qualified captain and crew on board in case of a system failure, and that is likely to remain a requirement for the next two or three years. Kongsberg is also developing technology for large USVs. It is providing the technology for the Yara Birkeland , which Norwegian shipping operator Yara International believes will be the world’s first fully electric container ship when operations start in the second half of 2018. This will move to remote operation in 2019, run from three operations centres, and be fully autonomous by 2020. The vessel will ship chemicals from Yara’s Porsgrunn production plant to Brevik and Larvik in Norway 12 miles away, replacing up to 40,000 truck journeys through populated urban areas. Its design was finalised in June 2017 for the vessel to carry up to 150 tonnes of material at speeds of up to 10 knots. It will use a 4 MWh battery pack to power two motors, with visible and infrared cameras, radar and Lidar sensors for positioning, and Automatic Identification System (AIS) for identification and collision avoidance. Having the vessel operate autonomously is only half the story though. The other half is autonomous loading and unloading, and this will be handled automatically using electric cranes and equipment. The ship will also be equipped with an automatic mooring system. Meanwhile, at Rolls-Royce’s USV r&d centre in Turku, Finland, the company August/September 2017 | Unmanned Systems Technology Rolls-Royce has teamed up with Svitzer on the remote control of a tug (Courtesy of Rolls-Royce) Rolls-Royce has taken a different approach to developing a control centre, optimising the layout rather than replicating a traditional ship’s bridge (Courtesy of Rolls-Royce)