92 Earlier this year, Norwegian USV developer and manufacturer Maritime Robotics made headlines for establishing the world’s first uncrewed freight route, running between its headquarters in Trondheim and its production facility in Vanvikan. The concept and challenges of autonomous shipping have been talked about in conference rooms and expo halls, and even explored in real-world applications such as the well-known Yara Birkeland container vessel (also developed and operated in Norway, by Yara International ASA). But, while that 3,200 t vessel must still operate with three crew members onboard, Maritime Robotics has achieved the right to operate its USVs fully uncrewed. As redundant as the term ‘uncrewed USV’ might be, many of our readers will know firsthand how challenging it is to convince regulators to trust autonomous systems without a human physically onboard to take direct, manual control. Indeed, it was the scale of the challenge that formed much of the motivation for Maritime Robotics to attempt such an operation in the first place. As Eirik Hovstein, vice-president, defence & security at Maritime Robotics explains: “The main idea of this project Rory Jackson discovers a Norwegian company that has gained the right to operate its USVs fully uncrewed Fjording ahead October/November 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Maritime Robotics is using its own Mariner USVs to move tools, parts and stationery for USV production from Trondheim to Vanvikan (Images courtesy of Maritime Robotics)
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