A technology development project on the highly automated operation of marine engines – R&D on Next-Generation Coastal Ships Utilizing Remote-Engine-Monitoring Technology – in which the NYK Group’s MTI Co., Ltd., Nabtesco Corporation, ClassNK, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd., and BEMAC Corporation have participated, in cooperation with companies including NYK Line, has just been started. This project was selected by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism(MLIT) for the “2021 Support Project for R&D in Promoting Aggregation and Cooperation in the Maritime Industry.”
In recent years, in coastal shipping, it has become an urgent task to deal with the future shortage of seafarers, which is expected due to the aging of seafarers and the decrease in the number of applicants. It is said that the biggest barrier to becoming a seafarer is an isolated working environment where seafarers spend a long time in an environment isolated from land. Due to the shortage of future seafarers, a concern has grown that there will be a shortage of highly specialized human resources who will be responsible for the engine operation of ships, which will hinder safe and efficient ship operations.
To solve such issues, in this project the five participating companies and cooperators, including NYK Line, aim to estimate the cause of engine operation failure by utilizing simulators as the core technology and to develop a remote-engine-monitoring system that can judge/make a decision on how to recover. This system development is a highly innovative initiative in the maritime industry, as it aims to enable an on-land monitoring center to monitor engine operations of multiple ships yet maintain today’s high safety level even if the number of seafarers involved in engine operation on board is reduced. Further, by proposing a new working style at the on-land monitoring center to coastal seafarers, it is also expected to reduce the seafarers’ isolated working environment.
In this project, a shipyard, maritime equipment manufacturers, a classification society, and shipping companies will work together to expedite development and conduct demonstration tests on actual ships.