A Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) car carrier has completed a 1,600 km roundtrip voyage across Japan using an autonomous navigation system as part of the Meguri 2040 fully autonomous ship project administrated by the Nippon Foundation.
The Hokuren Maru No. 2 went back and forth between the ports of Hitachi and Kushiro.
The autonomous navigation system, developed in partnership with Japan Radio Co, was used to navigate while maintaining the normal crew navigation tasks, and in situations where avoidance was necessary, the system proposed avoidance routes and controlled steering to safely avoid other vessels.
Japan’s major shipping lines, including K Line, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), are leading the world when it comes to the development and deployment of autonomous technologies at sea.