By
Alex Smith |
Norwegian ferry operator Norled, remote marine services provider Remota and zero-emission solutions supplier Seam have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on the development and operation of a control centre for marine operations and autonomous operations of ships.
The three companies intend to build on Remota’s already established control centre for marine and semi-autonomous vessel operations, allowing it to also control fully autonomous operations. The parties will share experiences, collaborate on technological solutions and promote standardisation.
Norled is one of Norway’s largest ferry operators, with over 70 vessels sailing in the country. It provides services from the Oslofjord to Troms County.
“We have many vessels and crossing that we would like to make more autonomous in order to increase safety and efficiency for our passengers and crew,” said Erlend Hovland, chief technology officer at Norled. “Back in 2001, we performed our first pilot for auto crossing and auto docking, and this year we will start our third pilot. Autonomous navigation is taking the technology to the next level, and we are excited to join forces with our partners Seam and Remota to do so.”
Remota owns and operates onshore Remote Operations Centers (ROCs), which currently operate vehicles for the subsea oil and gas industry. However, the collaboration will allow it to develop and expand its service for other industries.
“We are firm believers in competency transfer between different industries,” said Syeinung Soma, CEO of Remota. “Both the technology and competence can be transferred to operation of car and passenger ferries, but we need innovative operators such as Norled to pave the way for this development. The ultimate benefit is substantial cost savings and smaller environmental footprint from vessel operations.”
Seam provides automation and zero-emission solutions to the Norwegian shuttle ferry market. The company will act as the system integrator and technology supplier within the agreement.
“This is a very exciting and innovative development project, which will enable a possible generational shift for vessel operations,” said Gunvald Mortvedt, CEO of Seam. “We are incredibly proud to take part in this exciting collaboration with Remota and Norled.”
The letter of intent was signed at the Nor-Shipping 2023 conference in Lillestrøm, Norway.