Crewless containerships on horizon in years to come
BEFORE long, the 120-TEU Yara Birkeland will be sailing crew-free, reports BBC News.
The plan is to gradually reduce the number of crew members on board from five to two by the end of the year. If everything goes smoothly, the ship's bridge will be removed in two years, resulting in a fully autonomous vessel with no crew on board.
For now, the ship is being captained by Svend Odegard and measures 80 metres in length.
"We are taking big steps towards autonomy. There's a lot of installed technology there that is not on existing ships," said Mr Odegard.
"We have situational awareness - cameras on the side, front, and stern of the ship. It can decide whether to change its path because something is in the way."
The duties of the captain will be transferred to a remote operation centre located 80 kilometres away, where multiple ships could be monitored simultaneously.
In the event of any required modifications, humans will have the ability to intervene by sending commands to change the vessel's speed and course.
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