MOL and Partners demonstrates Auto Berthing and Un-Berthing Test

TOKYO: Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda; Tokyo), Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Akishima Laboratories (Mitsui Zosen) Inc. has recently announced the completion of a demonstration test (from December 2018 to February 2019) using the TUMST training ship Shioji Maru for their proposed joint demonstration project related to the safety of vessels' auto berthing and un-berthing. The project was selected for Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT)'s FY2018 autonomous vessel demonstration project.
The project team completed a total of 54 auto berthing operations using a virtual pier set on the open water, and gained useful data for R&D on auto berthing systems.
Before conducting the test, the team formulated the ship operation plan, test guidelines, and criteria for canceling the operation ahead of time due to safety concerns, at the same time completing a thorough safety assessment under various phenomena by using the simulation environment.
The team plans a demonstration test with a large-size coastal ferry in FY2019 after substantially examining the development of ship operation control system and test methods.