A crew would be on standby as a containership self-sails across the Pacific Ocean sometime in 2019, according to a report from Bloomberg Technology.
NYK said that it has been working since 2016 on studying crash avoidance techniques for autonomous ships with radar manufacturer Furuno Electric Co and communication equipment-makers Japan Radio Co and Tokyo Keiki Inc, according to Bloomberg.
NYK is at least the third Japanese company to begin working on self-driving container ships, following "K" Line and MOL. In late May, MOL and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuild Co announced they're developing a joint technological concept for autonomous ocean transport system via a grant through the Japanese government, reported American Shipper.
Furthermore, Norwegian firm Yara International says that it's planning to build a US$12 million, battery-powered 100-120 TEU containership to move containers to the ports of Brevik and Larvik. A small crew would initially be onboard to operate the ship, but the vessel would be fully autonomous by 2019 or 2020.
NYK said that it has been working since 2016 on studying crash avoidance techniques for autonomous ships with radar manufacturer Furuno Electric Co and communication equipment-makers Japan Radio Co and Tokyo Keiki Inc, according to Bloomberg.
NYK is at least the third Japanese company to begin working on self-driving container ships, following "K" Line and MOL. In late May, MOL and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuild Co announced they're developing a joint technological concept for autonomous ocean transport system via a grant through the Japanese government, reported American Shipper.
Furthermore, Norwegian firm Yara International says that it's planning to build a US$12 million, battery-powered 100-120 TEU containership to move containers to the ports of Brevik and Larvik. A small crew would initially be onboard to operate the ship, but the vessel would be fully autonomous by 2019 or 2020.