Revolutionizing Maritime Transport: Finland and Holland Pioneer Autonomous Fleets

Fleet management on water often receives less media spotlight than the digital transformation sweeping road transport, yet it is undergoing significant change. Antony Savvas highlights two pioneering developments from Finland and the Netherlands.

With a historic trial in the Port of Helsinki, ABB and Helsinki City Transport advanced the concept of “captain‑less” shipping. In what is hailed as a world first for an existing passenger ferry, ABB successfully tested an autonomous solution.

Crisis and Boom

Autonomous solutions are expected to transform international shipping over the coming decades as the industry recovers from the downturn caused by the 2008 financial crisis. According to the International Chamber of Shipping, global demand for maritime transport has risen 30% over the past decade, while more than 10 billion tons of cargo are now carried by sea each year.

The Suomenlinna II, pictured above, was retrofitted with ABB’s new dynamic positioning system, ABB Ability Marine Pilot Control, and was steered from a remote‑control centre in Helsinki.

Juha Koskela, Managing Director of ABB’s Marine & Ports unit, said: “Autonomous does not mean unmanned. As vessels become more electric, digital and connected than ever before, ABB equips seafarers with solutions that augment their skill‑sets, enhancing overall safety of marine operations.”

After the trial voyage, Captain Lasse Heinonen remarked: “The progress we made with the remote trial has been remarkable. We are on the right track to exploring further possibilities of this technology as we move forward.”

Pass the Remote

For the remote piloting trial, Captain Heinonen wirelessly operated Suomenlinna II with ABB Ability Pilot Control through a pre‑selected area of Helsinki harbour.

The trial took place during the vessel’s off‑hours, with no passengers aboard. Research and development will continue with the ferry and her crew, the partners said.

Going Dutch

In another waterborne innovation, Dell EMC and Nokia joined as lead technology partners in a public‑private smart‑city initiative in the historic Dutch city of Delft, renowned for its blue ceramics.

The project aims to reduce truck congestion in Delft’s city centre by deploying semi‑autonomous, hydrogen‑powered barges on existing waterways for “last‑mile” transportation. The collaboration seeks to help the region meet sustainability and economic development targets.

With the world’s urban population expected to double by 2050, demand on municipal resources will increase. City governments are adopting smart‑city initiatives to explore innovative technology that improves efficiency, manages resources better, and delivers new services that enhance citizens’ lives.

Smart Logistics

Dell EMC and Nokia, alongside Blue Turtle Associates, Aratos Systems, Circle Lines, City Hub, SPIE, the University of Delft, and the Province of South Holland, are trialing a Common Information Space for Smart City Logistics.

The Common Information Space is a scalable digital platform that connects the entire logistics chain around the city and underpins a navigation‑guidance system. It will be built with Dell EMC and Nokia technologies for compute, storage, data management, connectivity, analytics, IoT, and blockchain.

Many areas in Holland feature fine‑meshed waterways, canals, and reservoirs that are currently under‑used. With the development of quiet, clean semi‑autonomous barges, goods traditionally carried by trucks can be transported through the city’s waterways instead.

An automated, digitised hydrogen‑powered river barge will be connected and controlled by a mobility cloud using Nokia’s IMPACT IoT platform and the Dell EMC Digital City Accelerator Platform, complemented by hydraulic gangway technology from Ampelmann for on‑shore loading and unloading.

Operational

Testing will progress through 2019 with the goal of becoming fully operational by year‑end.

The effort has attracted interest from industries seeking to meet logistics and sustainability goals, including shipyards, package delivery, logistics distribution centres, mechanical engineering, offshore operators, catering, and waste management.

Laurent Le Gourrierec, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Nokia, said: “This collaboration is a perfect example of how industrial IoT networks can connect sensors, vehicles and machines to harness the power of automation to tackle the daunting societal challenge of keeping goods moving while reducing the carbon footprint.”

The author is freelance technology writer, Antony Savvas.