In partnership with Norwegian telecommunications provider Telenor Maritime, compatriot technology company Kongsberg Maritime is to conduct a ‘significant’ trial of Eutelsat OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet service on an autonomous battery-powered barge across the Oslo Fjord, Norway.
With an aim to improve ship-board connectivity, this trial is expected to be a ‘vital component’ for advancing autonomous and remote maritime operations.
The project concerns a trial involving the zero-emission ASKO barge, an e-vessel designed for autonomous operations. Owned and operated by grocery distributor ASKO, the barge will be equipped with Eutelsat OneWeb’s Kymeta Peregrine u8 flat panel antenna system—a technology that, according to the enterprise’s website, would enable Kongsberg Maritime to experience LEO connectivity and bandwidth for real-time data transfer, ship-to-shore communication, and remote and autonomous vessel control.
Pål André Eriksen, Senior Vice President, Remote & Autonomous Solutions, Kongsberg Maritime, highlighted that uninterrupted connectivity remains as one of the ‘key challenges for remote and autonomous operations, particularly in the open oceans.’“Overcoming the challenges of global connectivity and available bandwidth will unlock great potential for the deployment of such technologies in future, and we look forward to working with Eutelsat OneWeb and Telenor Maritime to see how this project can advance the development of autonomous shipping solutions further,” he added.
The ASKO barge, one of a pair delivered in 2022, has reportedly undergone extensive trials so far. The two have carried 16 cargo trailers on each journey across the Oslo Fjord. As a result, the operation is understood to have reduced road travel by two million kilometers and cut carbon emissions by 5,000 tons annually.
During the latest trials, the barge will be controlled from a Remote Operations Center (ROC), located in the Kongsberg Maritime facility in Horten. The ROC is operated by Massterly, a joint venture company of Kongsberg Maritime and Norwegian maritime group, Wilhelmsen.
Otherwise known as ‘sea drones’, both of the ASKO vessels have a permanent bridge for manual operations that can also be controlled from the ROC. However, the bridge is supposed to be omitted from future builds once the autonomous concept is proven completely successful.
Source: offshore-energy.biz
