Autonomous ships are on the horizon and will be on the seven seas

Recommendable! A long article covering this subject!

The dawn of autonomous ships! The potential is enormous! E.g. how much would it reduce shipping costs and speed up delivery etc..

Such ships can e.g. take other routes that would be avoided by ships with sailors (e.g. around the north pole).

"In January last year, a Japanese car ferry, the Soleil, became the first large vessel to navigate without human intervention. The 220-metre-long ship automatically berthed and unberthed, turned, reversed and steered itself for 240 kilometres across the Iyonada Sea from Shinmoji in northern Kyushu — manoeuvres that even skilled human operators find challenging.

It is early days, but ships are increasingly deploying sensors and artificial-intelligence (AI) systems to navigate, steer and avoid collisions. As with cars, such advances should improve safety, increase efficiency and — along with cleaner fuels and engines — reduce environmental impacts.

This is crucial: 80% of global trade (around 11 billion tonnes) is transported by sea each year1. In 2018, shipping generated around 3% (about 1,000 million tonnes) of global carbon dioxide emissions2. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has committed to halving the industry’s greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. ..."

Autonomous ships are on the horizon: here’s what we need to know