Autonomous and Remote Navigation Trial Project starts wide autonomous navigation

Autonomous and Remote Navigation Trial Project (ARNTP) is implemented as a part of the “MARINET” roadmap of the National Technology Initiative with support by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, with the involvement of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.

The strategic aim of the project is the establishment of technical and legal conditions for the wide maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) operation by shipping companies under the flag of Russian Federation from 2021 January and in any other country which will be ready to follow our approach.

Mikhail Ulyanov by SCFPola Anfisa by Pola Group

Rabochaya by Rosmorport
Ships participating in ARNTP: Mikhail Ulyanov by SCF, Pola Anfisa by Pola Group, Rabochaya within dredging caravan by Rosmorport

To meet this aim ARNTP develops two tracks of the project:
• Technological: the development and testing in real conditions of the standard set of technical systems enabling autonomous navigation and applicable for any existing commercial vessel.
• Legal: the development of legislation adopting autonomous navigation to the current maritime law, in compliance with the current conventional regulation and safety requirements.

Within ARNTP new systems are tested during real commercial operation on the several different vessels in different regions and conditions. We don’t stop their operation and don’t arrange dedicated experimental voyages – we implement the autonomous navigation in their everyday routine operation. Following strict functional approach, the system architecture of the solutions includes:
• Autonomous Navigation System (ANS) including
– Sensor Fusion Module (SFM) for navigation data integration
– Module of extended ECDIS functionality (R-ECDIS)
– Automated Collision Avoidance and Maneuvering Module (ACAM)
• Coordinated Motion Control System (CMCS)
• Environment Surveillance System (ESS) enabling automated optical analysis and recognition
• Extension to the existing onboard technical monitoring systems (R-SUTS) including
– Internal CCTV subsystem
• Remote Control Center (RCC) including interfaces to ANS, CMCS (with joystick system), ESS, R-SUTS, Internal CCTV, ships radio and messaging systems as well as local Data Log System (DLS), and videoconference with crew onboard (via Bridge Advisor)
• Bridge Advisor – onboard human interface similar to RCC interfaces to ANS, ESS, R-SUTS, Internal CCTV and videoconference with RCC
• Mode Switch to switch between manual and autonomous modes of navigation by the crew on board
• Communication system (for data exchange between onboard BTP systems and RCC)
• Configuration Manager for BTP system configuration, monitoring, maintenance and troubleshooting.
• Interfaces to existing conventional systems on board

The project partners are three major Russian shipping companies – SCF, Rosmorport and Pola Group – which are participating both in the development of the systems logic and in the trial operation.
Development of the technical solution is done by the group of technology companies and universities. The general contractor is Kronshtadt Technologies, former part of Transas Group which was previously focused on various naval solutions and unmanned technologies.

Legislation changes within ARNTP are also implementing in line with the technology development and approbation, and adopting autonomous navigation to the current international regulation “as is”:
• Introduction of the conceptual provisions in national legislation at the level of the Merchant Shipping Code and individual federal laws – implemented by federal law “On introduction of changes to the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation concerning legal arrangements which arise of the use of autonomous ships”,
• Regulation of MASS operation under the flag of Russian Federation for the “transitional” period until 2025 defining the requirements of state flag administration for the organization of such operation – implemented by the Government Decree “On provision of trial operation of maritime autonomous surface ships under the flag of the Russian Federation”;
• Technical regulation of the procedures and means of autonomous navigation at the level of Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (FAMRT) and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) – implemented by the “Recommendations of FAMRT for the applying COLREG-72 requirements for the trial operation of MASS under the flag of Russian Federation” and by the “Guidelines of RS on the classification of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS)”.

Detailed information about both tracks is provided in two submissions by Russian Federation to the IMO dated 11 February 2020 and 11 March 2020.