Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has ordered a new car carrier outfitted with an advanced autonomous navigation system from Shinkai Toyohashi Shipbuilding.
The vessel, set for delivery in March 2026, is designed to enhance safety and streamline onboard operations. Trials will be conducted during actual commercial voyages to verify the effectiveness of the new technologies installed onboard.
The new navigation system set to feature on this vessel automatically avoids collisions and groundings to support safe navigation. However, it will still operate under crew supervision.
It will also assist with information gathering, situation analysis, and collision avoidance planning, which, according to NYK, should reduce navigator workload and enhance safety.
This system utilises AI-powered image recognition and automatic radar target analysis to gather surrounding information, analyse the situation, visualise collision risks, formulate evasion plans, and perform automatic steering. It can also be switched to conventional crew-operated steering at any time.
To reduce the risk from issues like severe rolling that may lead to cargo shifting, the vessel will be fitted with a so-called large motion mitigation system.
This system simulates vessel motion using current ship conditions and real-time radar wave data. It then recommends the optimal course and speed to the operator to minimise rolling.
The 199.95 m vessel will also have Wi-Fi access points throughout the entire ship, in order to improve the onboard communication environment.
