World’s First Autonomous Passenger Ship Sailing Without A Captain

The Olympia Dream Seto is the world’s first passenger ship that sails with an automatic navigation system (MASS) on a long-distance route in the busy Seto Inland Sea, Japan.

The autonomous commercial ferry is 65.56 m long, with a gross tonnage of 942 tonnes and can accommodate 500 passengers. 

It was developed by the Nippon Foundation under its MEGURI 2040 Project and is operated by the Ryobi Group between Shin-Okayama and Tonosho Port (Shodoshima).

Olympia Dream Seto is not a water taxi, plying in safe waters, but sailing in one of the most congested maritime corridors filled with fishing vessels, cargo ships and debris, which adds to its credibility that if an AI vessel can operate here, it can do so anywhere in the world.

Many of its trials were supervised or remotely controlled; however, it was designed to operate at Level 4 Autonomy.

This means the ship can navigate and avoid both moving and stationary objects without a human operator on board. 

However, for the comfort of the passengers, a crew is placed on board.

Features of World’s First Autonomous Passenger Vessel

Olympia Dream Seto is not an ordinary autonomous ship; it can be termed a ‘floating supercomputer’, since it depends on a sensor fusion system which can make better decisions than human beings, per the ship’s makers.

HD Cameras and Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors

The onboard cameras and Lidar sensors can create a panoramic, 3D map of the environment in real time. Lidar is especially useful as it helps differentiate between objects and shadows, glare or even reflections. It utilises laser pulses to measure distance, and can even identify a tiny log or a fishing vessel from miles away.

AI Navigation System That Adheres to COLREGs

The ship boasts an advanced navigational system which uses predictive modelling. It not only identifies the location of nearby vessels but also predicts where they will be in five, ten or thirty minutes and adjusts its course to maintain a safe passing distance.

Cybersecurity

The Olympia Dream Seto uses military-grade encryption for its ship-to-shore data link. The navigation computer is physically separated from the passenger Wi-Fi. It is not easy to hack the vessel’s onboard systems for any purpose, per the makers.

Remote Operations Centre (ROC)

The autonomous passenger ship is always connected to a Remote Operations Centre through satellite and 5G. 

In the Centre, a human master mariner monitors its functioning. In case the AI systems witness issues that it cannot resolve on its own, which would be a rare case, then the shore-based captain can pilot the vessel with a joystick, all while sitting hundreds of miles away.

Why Did Japan Develop a Robot Ship?

Like the rest of the world, Japan faces a shortage of seafarers as the current ones are retiring and not many young adults are entering the profession, a phenomenon termed as ‘Silver Tsunami’.

Per reports, Japan is estimated to lose 50% of its coastal seafarers in the next 10 years, which is why the country’s maritime sector is focusing on building autonomous vessels.

One captain can monitor 5-6 autonomous ships at once, which helps Japan tackle the problem while enabling shipping companies to maintain their schedules, without the need for an onboard captain or even a crew.

What do people think?

Passengers, for now, find comfort in the presence of the crew members, whose job is practically nothing except evacuating the ship in case of an emergency.

However, since the concept of a crewless and captainless ferry might be scary for passengers, the crew members provide psychological comfort.

The company, on the other hand, plans to remove the crew members after some time and normalise the experience of an autonomous vessel for the travellers. 

Additionally, data from many sources suggests that AI captains are better than human captains, as they can analyse enormous amounts of information in real-time and make the best decisions in case of any emergency. 

They also offer a much smoother ride as human captains can be jerky with the rudder. The AI systems also calculate the most fuel-efficient and hydrodynamically stable turns possible, thus reducing sea or motion sickness.

Other Autonomous Ships

Though the Olympia Dream Seto has grabbed the headlines for being a commercial passenger vessel operating autonomously in a busy maritime environment, it is not the first vessel of its type.

MF Estelle is the world’s first autonomous electric passenger ferry, operating in Stockholm, Sweden. What makes it different from the Olympia Dream Seto is its smaller and is designed for shorter trips across Stockholm’s waterways.

The 12 m long vessel operates as an urban ferry or taxi, and departs every 20 minutes. It has no crew or captain and is fully electric and self-driving.

Made of lightweight carbon fibre, it began service in 2023 and was developed by Torghatten and Zeabuz, featuring a solar-powered propulsion system, advanced sensors for AI and remote monitoring and the ability to operate for 15 hours. 

Regulatory Battles For Autonomous Ships

The main legal obstacle for ships like the Olympia Dream Seto is a 1972 resolution, ‘COLREGs Rule 5’, that says every ship must maintain a lookout by ’sight and hearing’ at all times. This translates to the presence of human eyes and ears on the bridge.

A camera cannot be an eye, and a microphone cannot be an ear, according to this rule, which technically makes autonomous vessels illegal under international maritime law.

Hence, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is drafting the MASS (Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships) Code. 

This will transform the law from “prescriptive” rules (you must have a human) to “goal-based” standards (you must detect obstacles at least as well as a human). 

The Olympia Dream Seto is central to this process as it is operating under a special exemption from the Japanese government. 

Every time it sails, it sends the data collected from its sensors, Lidar and other systems, which IMO needs to finalise the MASS Code.

After this code is implemented, likely by the end of this decade, it will be legal and acceptable for remote operators in offices to captain massive ships which would sail without a human.

Conclusion

Olympia Dream Seto is not just an ordinary vessel. It’s a floating test case, proving crucial data to the IMO. 

The technology used on the world’s first autonomous passenger ship can be modified for offshore sector vessels which drop drilling equipment to crew members living on rigs in rough seas. 

For the onshore sector, this means more reliable logistics, which would remain unaffected by crew-rest hour regulations.

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