Automation of maritime shipping for more safety and environmental protection

Abstract

Abstract The demands on maritime shipping, one of the oldest and most international industries in the world, are increasing. The complexity of the transport chains, their constantly increasing size and the evolving regulatory requirements with regard to safety and sustainability continuously present new challenges. In addition, unforeseeable developments and the increasing utilization of the seas by other industries cause a constant uncertainty, by political and military conflicts along main shipping routes, as well as changed routing schemes caused by introduction of new environmental protection areas. Highly automated, remote-controlled or fully autonomous ships are intended to improve safety at sea and lead shipping into a more sustainable future. Experts in the maritime domain recommend the automation of ships (completely or partly unmanned) and the implementation of Artificial intelligence (AI) for more safety in navigation with a harmonized Maritime Cyber Risk Management. In a technology development platform such highly complex maritime systems can be validated and tested under realistic conditions, for instance to engage in determining positions more reliably and resiliently in view of the susceptibility and vulnerability of satellite-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as GPS, GLONASS or Galileo.