First commercial ship operators join Rolls-Royce led AAWA project

The Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWA) project, led by Rolls-Royce, introduced the project’s first commercial ship operators: ferry operator Finferries and dry bulk cargo carriers ESL Shipping Oy. The announcement came at a conference presenting the findings of the initiative’s first year of research at Helsinki’s Finlandia Hall last week, Rolls-Royce said in its press release.

The AAWA project brings together universities, ship designers, equipment manufacturers and classification societies to explore the economic, social, legal, regulatory and technological factors which need to be addressed to make autonomous ships a reality. It will produce the specification and preliminary designs for the next generation of advanced ship solutions.

Finferries will assist the project by carrying out a series of tests of sensor arrays in a range of operating and climatic conditions on board their 65 metre double ended ferry, the Stella, which operates between Korpo and Houtskär.

About AAWA
The AAWA project brings together universities, ship designers, equipment manufacturers, and classification societies to explore the economic, social, legal, regulatory and technological factors which need to be addressed to make autonomous ships a reality. It will produce the specification and preliminary designs for the next generation of advanced ship solutions. The project will run until the end of 2017. The project combines the expertise of some of Finland’s top academic researchers from Tampere University of Technology; VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd; Åbo Akademi University; Aalto University; the University of Turku; and leading members of the maritime cluster including Rolls-Royce, NAPA, Deltamarin, DNV GL and Inmarsat. The project has received €6.6 million from Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation).

About  Finferries
Finferries (Suomen Lauttaliikenne group) is a state-owned operator of ferry services in Finland. Commuter ferries are operated by a subsidiary of the group, Finland Archipelago Shipping, Ltd. Finferries has approximately 320 employees and operates on 44 routes around the country. The head office is located in Turku, with a branch office located in Savonlinna. Over four million vehicles and 10 million passengers are transported by Finferries annually.

About Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce is a world leader in marine solutions, providing products, service and expertise to more than 30,000 vessels in the offshore, merchant, naval surface and submarine markets. It designs ships and its product range includes propulsion systems featuring diesel engines and gas turbines, propellers, thrusters and water jets. Rolls-Royce also provides manoeuvring and stabilising systems and deck machinery. The company employs over 39,000 skilled people, including 11,000 engineers, in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries.