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