Germany’s HGK Shipping, one of the top inland shipping names, has secured government approval to test remote-controlled vessels on the domestic canal network.
Following the completion of initial trials earlier this month, HGK Shipping is now allowed to operate the first remote-controlled inland waterway vessel on a route from Scharnebeck to Salzgitter for six months.
Duisburg-based HGK has been pushing ahead with using the technology developed by Belgian specialist in remote-controlled shipping Seafar for some time with the aim to counter the shortage of specialist workers and the challenges posed by the ongoing process of climate change and its associated effects on the long-term capacity of inland waterway shipping as a means of transport.
“We’re putting our faith in increasingly digitalising inland waterway shipping together with our technology partner, Seafar, which is operating a so-called remote operations centre in Duisburg, in addition to modernising our fleet. This is an effective lever to increase the attractiveness of this profession when seeking to attract qualified workers,” said Steffen Bauer, CEO of HGK Shipping.
The permit was handed over by the German Federal Minister of Transport, Patrick Schnieder.
“Inland waterway shipping is facing enormous challenges. The shortage of skilled workers, which will particularly become even more critical in the near future, must not be allowed to become a serious obstacle for this hidden champion among the different modes of transport,” Schnieder said, adding: “It is now necessary to get the technology out of the laboratory and onto the water and put it into action.”
Remote-controlled operations on a trial basis with a full crew on board were previously allowed on the river Rhine with a Belgian permit. A full crew will also be on board the vessel during the new test phase, but HGK said the next stage of the test programme could then already mean operating the refitted vessels with a reduced crew.
“The goal here is to use personnel in a more flexible manner and enable skippers to spend more time on dry land,” the company explained.
Remote-controlled shipping has already been proven in other European countries, primarily in Belgium and the Netherlands.
