Session: 01-04-01 Design & Analysis-I

Paper Number: 131832

131832 - Round-Trip Between Two Ports - Autonomous Operation of a Container Feeder Vessel 

MARIN is a partner in the EU funded project MOSES ("AutoMated Vessels and Supply Chain Optimisation for Sustainable Short SEa Shipping"). The MOSES project aims at improving container transport by short sea shipping in European waters. Within the project MARIN has designed an innovative container feeder vessel, including solutions for zero emission propulsion and autonomous operation. Three different vessel designs were made, one design for operation in Spain and two designs for operation in Greece. The second "Greek" design was chosen as the use case to investigate autonomous operation. The ship has a length of 71 m. It is equipped with two azimuthing thrusters for main propulsion, as well as two bow tunnel thrusters for manoeuvring in port and dynamic positioning. The autonomous operation of the Greek innovative feeder vessel was investigated using a two-step approach.

 

First, a time-domain simulation model of the ship was made and algorithms for vehicle control and autonomous operation were designed, implemented and tested. The time-domain model included a large sea area with two ports (Mykonos and Piraeus), environmental conditions of wind and waves and a detailed model of the container feeder vessel, including all necessary sensors and actuators. The round-trip between two ports consists of several different sections, such as docking and undocking, manoeuvring in port and transit in open sea. Each of these sections required different capabilities of the ship, which were defined in operational states. Each operational state includes a specific control algorithm and a specific thruster allocation algorithm. In some situations the ship is under actuated, e.g. when sailing in open sea, or approaching the port. In other situations the ship is fully actuated, e.g. when docking. The simulation model was used to simulate round-trips between Mykonos and Piraeus, in different environmental conditions and the ship travelling at different speeds.

 

Second, the simulation model of the ship was replaced by a physical scale model and the software for autonomous control was used to demonstrate autonomous vessel operation in the model basin. Furthermore, a user-interface for the vessel operator was added. In the model basin, a schematic port was modelled. Irregular seas were generated using the wave flaps in the basin. Wind forces were recreated using small wind fans placed on the model. Depending on the specified wind conditions and the measured heading of the vessel, the required RPMs for these fans were calculated, resulting in wind loads corresponding with the specified conditions.

 

The autonomous operation of the container feeder was demonstrated using a 1:17 scale model of the vessel in MARIN's Seakeeping and Manoeuvring Basin (SMB). The scale model was completely wireless, with its own on-board power supply. The software to control the vessel was installed on an on-board computer, while measured signals were transferred to the basin carriage using a WiFi connection. The model was able to perform a round-trip through the basin, including autonomous docking and undocking. The operation could be started and stopped, using a remote operator interface, which was present on the basin carriage. After starting the trip, the vessel could execute the complete round-trip without any external instructions.

 

Presenting Author: Hans Cozijn Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN)

Presenting Author Biography: Hans studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at Delft University, graduating in 1996 at the hydrodynamics department. Hans has 25 years of experience in hydrodynamic scale model testing and computer simulations of ships and offshore structures. His specialities include floater motions, mooring analysis, dynamic positioning and control of ships and underwater vehicles.

Authors:

Hans Cozijn Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN)
Bas De Kruif Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN)
Ed Van Daalen Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN)
Giorgio Iavicoli Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN)