Ocean-going vessels with no-one on board - a vision of the future that's coming faster you think.
It sounds like science fiction. Ocean-going ships with no-one on board. But this vision of the future is coming - and sooner than you might think.
Strikingly for a ship that's 78m in length there are only 16 people on board. A traditional ship carrying out the same kind of work would need a crew of 40 or 50. OI believes it can reduce the numbers still further.Entering the company's remote operations centre in Southampton is like walking on to a futuristic film set. The dimly lit room is vast, and it's filled with 20 "bridge stations", each fitted with gaming-like controls and touch screens.
Autonomy, robotics and remote operation, along with artificial intelligence, will transform all transport sectors. Maritime will be no different and experiments are under way around the globe.The Yara Birkeland caries fertiliser to a port for export. The plan is for it to work without any crew "We've had autopilots that let ships follow a path by themselves. That's not so challenging. The challenges come when interacting with other traffic or a port, or when there are unforeseen situations or bad weather circumstances," he told BBC News.
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