Singapore's Keppel Offshore and Marine (Keppel O&M) has successfully completed its maiden autonomous vessel project, which utilised a tug owned and operated by Keppel Smit Towage.
Capable of autonomous vessel navigation as well as collision detection and avoidance (CDCA), Maju 510 is also the first vessel in the world to receive the Autonomous Notation from classification society ABS.
Keppel added that the tug is the first in South Asia that can be remotely operated by joystick control. It can be controlled from a shore command centre with a joystick even for complex manoeuvres, making it the first vessel in the world to receive the ABS Remote Control Navigation Notation in October 2021.
Maju 510 is also the first vessel to receive the Smart (Autonomous) Notation under the Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS) by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). This certifies the tug's ability to perform autonomous and remote control navigation in a controlled environment with seafarers on board.
As the systems integrator for the autonomous solutions, Keppel O&M, through its technology arm Keppel Marine and Deepwater Technology (KMDTech), set up the shore command centre and upgraded the 65-tonne bollard pull tug by retrofitting advanced systems to generate digital situational awareness and high accuracy positioning and manoeuvring.
Maju 510 was outfitted by Keppel O&M with state-of-the-art systems and technologies, such as ABB's proprietary control systems that use artificial intelligence to automate navigational observations. The tug was also outfitted with various technologies that KMDTech developed in partnership with MPA and the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS), such as a digital twin that simulates vessel behaviour in multiple scenarios.
Following the completion of the autonomous tug project, Keppel O&M and Keppel Smit Towage aim to collaborate with MPA to test varying degrees of autonomous operations, including interaction and collaborative operations among autonomous vessels, tests in live traffic, remotely supervised autonomous operation with improved port connectivity, and pushing and towing operations.
