SMM 2024: DNV celebrates advances in ship autonomy

At the SMM trade fair this week, DNV celebrated three advances in the ongoing development and deployment of autonomous technologies in shipping. Ocean Infinity was awarded a Statement of Compliance, while Avikus and Reach Subsea received certificates recognizing their ongoing collaborations with DNV.

Autonomous shipping covers many aspects of shipping’s new technological landscape – everything from systems to aid decision making, control speed and direction, through to remote controlled operation, and fully unmanned vessels. This evolution is still in its early stages, however, making close collaboration between stakeholders essential to realizing the potential gains in safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO DNV Maritime said: "As the maritime industry becomes more technologically advanced, DNV is committed to collaborating with industry leaders to enhance the efficiency and safety of shipping. In the absence of a regulatory scheme for the industry, we are developing guidelines and class notations that have been designed to evolve with the rapid advancements in autonomous technologies." 

At SMM Trade Fair this week, Ocean Infinity was awarded a Statement of Compliance for its remotely supported vessel operations. Receiving this approval establishes Ocean Infinity’s vessel concept as the first fleet to reach the required standard of technology and operations for large vessels, and permits the beginning of onshoring marine related tasks and activities. 

Oliver Plunkett, CEO at Ocean Infinity, said: “Since we started the business, Ocean Infinity has been about innovation, technology and pushing the boundaries in the maritime industry. This is a significant achievement for the team. My congratulations go to them all, as well as those who have worked with them and contributed at DNV and Vard, our ship builder. As we deliver our services to our customers, we are continually balancing the need for technology driven progress with safely bringing them solutions. Our approach is to pioneer with speed but not haste, becoming the first organisation to receive this Statement of Compliance is testament to that. I am looking forward to watching as we begin to put our ideas of onshoring marine activities and tasks into practice.”

During day two of SMM, Avikus, HD Hyundai’s ship autonomous navigation subsidiary, and DNV celebrated the start of the test phase for the HiNAS decision support system. HiNAS assists navigators by enabling ships to avoid collisions while maintaining optimal routes and speeds. After receiving a DNV design verification report (DVR) in September 2023, the new testing phase plays an important role in the Type Approval process for the HiNAS decision support system.

Dohyeong Lim, CEO of Avikus, said: “We are excited to be working towards the first Type Approval for autonomous navigation solutions under DNV’s regulations, a leading maritime classification society. As this is a world-first initiative, we are navigating unexpected challenges, but our close collaboration is establishing verification standards and methodologies. This milestone is significant for both DNV, which is at the forefront of setting international standards for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), and Avikus, which is advancing and commercializing autonomous navigation technology. Avikus will continue to support DNV’s efforts and collaborate across various areas to further develop and approve this technology.”

Another project sees Reach Subsea, working with DNV on the testing of the “Reach Remote”, their DNV classed 24m unmanned survey vessel, which is designed to be operated remotely from its deployment. While the vessel is currently remotely operated from a mothership, Reach is working towards certification that will enable full autonomy in the future. At SMM, the parties celebrated the ongoing cooperation and reflected on the potential of the uncrewed operations to revolutionize offshore subsea operations.

Bjørg Mathisen Døving, Vice President at Reach Remote said: “Reach Remote is a groundbreaking marine technology project that has demanded significant effort from everyone involved. With no rules to steer towards, DNV's role has been valuable, also to me personally on how to navigate in a complex and uncharted environment.”

DNV has developed an additional class notation focused on autonomous and remotely operated ships (AROS), providing a framework for how auto remote vessels can achieve equivalent or higher safety compared to conventional vessels. The notation, which is currently on hearing, applies functional requirements combined with a risk-based approach to assess the various possibilities of autonomous and remotely operated vessel concepts. The AROS notation is a result of many years of lessons learned by using the DNV-CG-0264 (class guidelines for autonomous and remotely operated ships) to evaluate autonomous ship concepts in collaboration with many innovative companies worldwide.  DNV-CG-0264, initially launched in 2018, has also been updated to include the knowledge acquired with real-life projects. The new edition of the class guideline is also on hearing.