First autonomous cargo ship faces test in FebruaryBloombergIn just two decades from now, half of all domestic ships plying Japan’s coastal waters might be piloting themselves. That is the ambitious goal of the Nippon Foundation, a public interest organization backing the nation’s development of ocean-traversing autonomous ships. Photo: BloombergAccording to Nippon Yusen, the 380km voyage would be the world’s first test of an autonomous ship in an area with heavy marine traffic. The global market for autonomous shipping could grow to be worth about US$166 billion by 2030. The “immense challenge” would be developing a regulatory environment and industry standards around autonomous shipping by then, he said.

Source: Taipei Times August 31, 2021 15:56 UTC