Hyperdrive
First Autonomous Cargo Ship Faces Test With 236-Mile Voyage
- Group aims to have self-manned ships in practical use by 2025
- Aging workforce make self-sailing ships a priority in Japan
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In just two decades from now, half of all domestic ships plying Japan’s coastal waters may be piloting themselves.
That’s the ambitious goal of the Nippon Foundation, a public-interest organization backing the country’s development of ocean-traversing autonomous ships. It aims to see crewless ships make up 50% of Japan’s local fleet by 2040.
With the foundation’s backing, a group that includes Japan’s largest shipping company, Nippon Yusen KK, plans to have a container ship pilot itself from Tokyo Bay to Ise, a coastal city in central Mie prefecture, in February. According to Nippon Yusen, the 380 kilometer (236 mile) voyage will be the world’s first test of an autonomous ship in an area with heavy marine traffic.