OKAYAMA ¨C The Nippon Foundation said Wednesday that a regular passenger ferry using autonomous navigation technology will begin commercial operations as soon as next March.
According to the foundation, it will be the first time in the world that a regular passenger ship carrying ordinary passengers will be operated commercially using automated navigation systems.
The initiative is aimed at addressing ship crew shortages and reducing accidents caused by human error.
Under the autonomous ship project, a feature that enables fully automatic operation under specific conditions has been installed in the Olympia Dream Seto, a ferry operated by Kokusai Ryobi Ferry, between the city of Okayama and Shodoshima, an island in Kagawa Prefecture
The ferry became the first ship certified by the Japanese government as an ¡°autonomous ship.¡±
The ship will conduct familiarization voyages with passengers and system personnel this week, with full-scale operations set to start by the end of fiscal 2025.
The ship uses sensors to recognize surrounding conditions, automatically adjusting course to avoid obstacles and controlling the rudder and propeller. Manual control will be activated in the event of danger.
The foundation launched the project in 2020, collaborating with domestic shipping, shipbuilding, communications and trading companies.
Under the project, three additional vessels are slated to launch commercial operations using autonomous navigation by the end of March.
¡°I think Japan is ahead of the rest of the world,¡± said Mitsuyuki Unno, executive director of the foundation. ¡°We hope to contribute to the creation of international rules as a leader.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.