One Sea Autonomous Shipping Alliance Welcomes Three New Members

June 5, 2019, by World Maritime News

Three more players in the international maritime sector have joined One Sea, the industry alliance that promotes a common goal of self-guiding shipping.

Global satellite group Inmarsat and NYK Group’s research subsidiary Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI) have joined One Sea as full members, while the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) has signed a memorandum of understanding to become a One Sea associate member.

“We are delighted to welcome the largest global provider of ship-to-shore connectivity, the R&D arm of one of the largest shipowners in the world and the industry’s leading professional body for naval architects as members,” Päivi Haikkola, One Sea Lead, commented.

One Sea members ABB, Kongsberg Maritime and Wärtsilä ran separate autonomous ship trials off the Finnish and Norwegian coasts at the end of 2018.

Finnish regulators have authorized One Sea to oversee future trials in Jaakonmeri off western Finland – the first dedicated test zone worldwide.

“Members have complete freedom to innovate and develop their own cost-efficient autonomous ship solutions inside an alliance which is nonetheless committed to harmonizing technical standards,” Haikkola explained.

“Our expectation is that, as member numbers grow, operating solutions will multiply but members will also work towards integration.”

The new members would bring different perspectives and insights to the One Sea ecosystem, she added.

NYK and its group companies MTI and Japan Marine Science (JMS) have already been working with nautical instrument manufacturers to develop highly automated ship navigation technologies, with a tugboat test for NYK company Wing Maritime Service Corporation scheduled for H2 2019. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) envisages autonomous ships operating in Japan by 2025.

One Sea has also set 2025 as its target for an autonomous shipping infrastructure, including a full set of safety rules and technology standards.

“One Sea is emerging as a strong voice on interoperability and standards that the wider industry is listening to. As Inmarsat continues to roll out the high-speed maritime broadband service that will enable and protect shipping’s digital future, it is critical we support the alliances enabling integration,” Stefan Poli, Inmarsat VP Business Development, said.

Haikkola said that the full research program being developed by One Sea continued to expand, with its most recent initiative focusing on autonomous ship piloting arrangements between ports and ships.

“As an area where public and private interests converge, One Sea can play a special role in the different strands of research, funding, test coordination and results dissemination,” she concluded.