Rolls-Royce is developing unmanned cargo ships

Bloomberg reported that the reputable Rolls-Royce Holdings engine is planning to develop the first unmanned cargo ships and the fact that they have embarked on it since the end of last year. With this type of ship, the captain can sit on the ground and control his ship outside the ocean.

People will also save money by eliminating unnecessary components on the ship such as the control room, no need to hire sailors, no need to be equipped with life support devices on board. , save fuel use.

Great benefits

The captain can use a control room with 360-degree Virtual Reality technology to simulate the cockpit of the ship and control it remotely without having to be present on the ship itself. The entire crew is no longer needed, so people will remove electricity systems for living, air conditioning systems, food, necessities . on board, helping ships 5% lighter and save 12-15% more fuel than today. According to a consultant, a large cargo ship costs US $ 3,299 / day for crew-related expenses, accounting for 44% of all operating costs.

Mr. Oskar Levander, Rolls-Royce's Maritime Technology and Engineer Director, told Bloomberg: "The current technology has reached a level that allows us to do that and society is also moving toward a trend. this " .

Rolls-Royce said the shipping industry accounts for 90% of the worldwide market share and has a total value of 375 billion USD, the development of new technologies such as unmanned vessels will minimize operating costs. and bring more benefits to people. The use of unmanned aircrafts also limits human illness when being away from the mainland for a long time, improving the quality of life of staff and sailors when working on the ground, minimizing loss of life when meeting pirates .

And the difficulties .

Current international law does not allow people to use unmanned cargo ships because they must meet the minimum number of crew on each ship. In addition, it is not a short time from now until it becomes a reality. Currently unmanned vehicle technology is only the strongest application in the military with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned cars are also thriving but not yet popularized.

In addition, according to Bloomberg, this is a very expensive plan for Rolls-Royce, which must anticipate possible incidents and develop new safety and safety rescue equipment. suitable for these unmanned vessels. For example, in the case of a malfunctioning machine, the train stops operating, at which time people must have backup plans on how to save the ship or help the ship to operate again as usual.