We are surrounded by goods in our homes and on our market shelves because of the billions of tonnes of goods that are shipped every year on cargo ships around the world. It's estimated that at least 90 percent of all goods today are still transported by ship.

And traditional ships operated with crews might soon become a thing of the past, as more autonomous technology makes its way into the industry.

Japan has just recently launched a new autonomous ship project, ideally it's going to be an autonomous ocean transportation system, that's set to receive funding from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT).

The objective is to develop autonomous vessels, and the technology surrounding it, in order to revolutionize shipping by providing more efficient, reliable, and safer transport of goods. The MLIT will be working along with universities and other institutes, like the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and the National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology, in order to conduct the research and develop the program.

The project is going to help fuel interest surrounding autonomous transportation systems and it will help to foster development for the infrastructure that is required for such a project to see full realization. It's expected that the results will be shared with the maritime industry and the public, in an effort to try and drum up public support for the implementation of this sort of shipping system.

It's estimated that the autonomous ships provide at least a 10 to 15 percent reduction in fuel cost for a common cargo vessel.

The benefits seen with autonomous shipping are things like reducing logistics costs, reducing environmental impact, seamless connections with other transportation models, and more. Japan sees this system as providing multiple benefits to not only the shipping industry but also the environment.

When it comes to building crewless vessels, it offers them a lot more space and they aren't restricted under the same limitations that ships have with crews with living quarters, a mess area, stairs, and a lot of other features. This is said to have enabled them to make much more efficient shipping machines.

Not Just Japan...

A number of companies are looking into developing autonomous technology in this space. One Norwegian company, Kongsberg Maritime, is looking to introduce autonomous ferries by as early as next year. Another Norwegian company, Yara, along with Kongsberg Maritime, is also looking to introduce the world's first fully-electric autonomous container ship; operations are expected to begin next year.

Another company in this space is Rolls-Royce, they've already made big investments into research and development surrounding autonomous ships and ship intelligence.

One Sea, a marine industry initiative, also recently unveiled its plans for the development of the world's first autonomous ship system. They hope to have autonomous shipping up and running in the Baltic Sea area by at least 2025.

As many in this space continue to move forward with investment, research, and development, in this area, it might not be very long before a majority of the ships out there are working within a much more efficient and autonomous shipping system.

Pics:
Pixabay
canescards -canescards.com/collections
George Wang via Linkedin - linkedin.com/pulse/technology-enabling-autonomous-shipping-ge-george-wang

Sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/08/shipping-industry-bigger-you-can-imagine/312253/
http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option%3Dcom_k2%26view%3Ditem%26id%3D26183:japan-launches-autonomous-ship-rd-project%26Itemid%3D257
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/two-norwegian-firms-are-building-the-worlds-first-self-driving-electric-container-ship
http://gcaptain.com/first-unmanned-and-fully-automated-offshore-vessel-planned-for-2018/
http://www.marinemec.com/news/view,japan-turns-to-autonomous-shipping_47839.htm
https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/press-releases/yr-2017/08-03-2017-rr-announces-investment-in-research.aspx
https://www.rolls-royce.com/products-and-services/marine/ship-intelligence.aspx#section-overview1
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/what-will-autonomous-ship-future-look-180962236/
http://www.ship-technology.com/news/newsone-sea-unveils-new-autonomous-shipping-roadmaps-5821555
http://newatlas.com/autonomous-electric-shipping-container-vessel/49477/