World’s 1st Autonomous Passenger Ship to Start Service in Japan

Okayama, Dec. 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Nippon Foundation said Wednesday that a regular passenger ferry using autonomous navigation technology will begin commercial operations by the end of next March at the earliest. According to the foundation, it will be the first time in the world that a regular passenger ship carrying ordinary passengers will be operated commercially with automatic navigation technology. The initiative is aimed at addressing ship crew shortages and reducing accidents caused by human error. Under the autonomous ship project, a function that enables fully automatic operation under specific conditions has been installed in the Olympia Dream Seto, a ferry operated by Kokusai Ryobi Ferry Co., based in the western city of Okayama, between a port in the city in Okayama Prefecture and Shodoshima, an island in Kagawa Prefecture, also western Japan. The ferry became the first ship certified by the Japanese government as an “autonomous ship.” The ship will conduct familiarization voyages with passengers and system personnel from Thursday, with full-scale operations set to start by the March 31 end of fiscal 2025. The ship uses sensors to recognize surrounding conditions, automatically adjusting course to avoid obstacles and controlling the rudder and propeller. Manual control will be activated in the event of danger. The foundation launched the project in 2020, collaborating with domestic shipping, shipbuilding, communications and trading companies. Under the project, three additional vessels are slated to launch commercial operations using autonomous navigation by the end of March. “I think Japan is ahead of the rest of the world,” said Mitsuyuki Unno, executive director of the foundation. “We hope to contribute to the creation of international rules as a leader.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]