Identification of a task-based implementation path for unmanned autonomous ships

Figures & data

Table 1. THE 10 CLUSTERS IDENTIFIED WITH THE HELP OF INDUSTRY EXPERTS AND THE TASKS INVOLVED.

No	Cluster	Tasks involved
1	Mooring	Preparing bridge for arrival and departure Preparing engine room for arrival and departure Watch in engine room during arrival and departure Preparing deck for arrival and departure Handling mooring lines Supervise preparations of deck for arrival and departure Clean up deck after arrival and departure
2	Navigation	Watch keeping during arrival and departure Watch keeping during normal sailing Additional watch keeping at night during normal sailing Manoeuvring the ship during arrival and departure
3	Maintenance in engine room	Maintenance in engine room during loading and unloading Maintenance in engine room during normal sailing Maintenance paperwork during loading and unloading Maintenance paperwork during normal sailing Night watch in engine room during normal sailing Repair in engine room during normal sailing
4	Maintenance on deck	Perform maintenance and repair of emergency equipment Check refrigerated containers twice daily Perform maintenance of superstructure and hull Maintain hatch covers
5	Bunkering	Supervise bunkering of fuel Disposal of oil waste Supervise bunkering of lubrication oil
6	Administration	Perform administrative duties during loading and unloading Perform administrative duties during normal sailing
7	Port supervision	Port watch: cargo loading and unloading supervision Port watch: access control Work planning
8	Responsibility	Responsibility in engine room Responsibility for the ship
9	Cargo conditioning	Perform cargo conditioning (securing containers)
10	Life support	Prepare food and drink Provide medical care and maintain medical equipment

Figure 1. SIMPLIFIED OVERVIEW OF THE CREW ANALYSIS ALGORITHM.

Table 2. MONTHLY COST PER CREW MEMBER AND FOR THE TOTAL CREW IN A CONVENTIONAL SITUATION [CREW COST AND CREW COMPOSITION PROVIDED BY JR SHIPPING].

Crew member	Monthly cost [€]	Required crew in conventional situation
Captain	9.000	1
Chief Engineer	8.900	1
Chief Officer	7.500	1
Second Engineer	7.400	1
Second Officer	4.200	1
Bosun	2.400	1
Cook	2.700	1
Able bodied seaman (ABS)	2.000	2
Ordinary seaman (OS)	1.800	0
Deck boy (DB)	1.400	2
TOTAL on board crew cost		€ 48,900

Table 3. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTED SOLUTIONS AND THE EXPECTED IMPLEMENTATION TIME OF THE SOLUTIONS.

Cluster	Potential solutions	Timeframe
Mooring	Automated mooring system that interfaces with the current quayside infrastructure. Shore crew that comes aboard the ship to perform mooring tasks	Available now
Navigation	Computer aided navigation per ship during normal sailing phase. Shore control station that monitors several ships at the same time	5–10 years 10+ years
Maintenance in engine room	Maintenance is exclusively performed by maintenance team while the ship is in port.	Long term goal
Maintenance on deck	Maintenance is exclusively performed by maintenance team that performs their tasks while the ship is in port.	Available now
Bunkering	Supervision of bunkering is performed by an agent of the ship owner	Up to 1 year, organizational change
Administration	Administration is performed at the office of the ship owner	Up to 1 year, organizational change
Port supervision	Tasks are performed by an agent of the ship owner	Up to 1 year, organizational change
Responsibility	Cannot be automated under the current regulations, ideally the responsibility would be transferred to the shore control station	10+ years. This cluster can only be replaced if regulations allow it and a shore control station is available.
Cargo conditioning	Cell guides	Available now
Life support	Tasks cannot be performed off the ship and will need to be performed in some way while the ship is manned	Only when no people remain on board

Table 4. REQUIRED CREW MEMBERS PER CLUSTER, SORTED BY TRAVEL PHASE PER DEPARTMENT [OUTPUT FROM AUTHOR’S PUSPOSE BUILT CREW ANALYSIS ALGORITHM].

Figure 2. HEAT MAP FOR THE MAXIMUM CREW OVER ALL TRAVEL PHASES WITH THE RELAXED TASK ASSIGNMENT.

Figure 3. DIFFERENCE IN SCENARIO DISTRIBUTION (CUMULATIVE) SHOWING A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE REQUIRED CREW FOR THE RELAXED ASSIGNMENT AND THE TRADITIONAL ASSIGNMENT.

Figure 4. HEAT MAP FOR MONTHLY CREW COST PER SCENARIO AS A FUNCTION OF THE NUMBER OF CLUSTERS AUTOMATED.

Table 5. COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF CREW MEMBERS PER REDUCTION STEP [OUTPUT FROM AUTHOR’S PURPOSE BUILT CREW ANALYSIS ALGORITHM].

	Loading and unloading	Arrival and departure	Normal sailing	Cost reduction per month [€]
Base case	9	9	11	0
Partial replacement of navigation	9	9	8	5,600
Replacement of mooring and port supervision	6	2	8	16,400
Replacement of maintenance on deck, administration and cargo conditioning	4	2	4	41,800
Redistributing the cooking task	3	2	3	47,200
Replacement of near shore navigation, bunkering and moving responsibility to chief engineer	2	1	2	65,200
Replacing maintenance in engine room, responsibility and life support	0	0	0	97,800

Figure 5. LEFT: WORKLOAD FOR THE REMAINING 4 CREW MEMBERS FOR EACH OF THE TRAVEL PHASES, RIGHT: WORKLOAD WITH OTHER CREW MEMBERS HAVING THE CAPABILITY TO PREPARE FOOD.