Kongsberg Maritime to remotely control an autonomous barge across the Oslo Fjord

As part of a trial of Eutelsat OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet service, Kongsberg Maritime will launch an autonomous barge operation across the Oslo Fjord. 

Autonomous vessel control

In a collaborative project with the help of Norwegian telecommunications provider Telenor Maritime, a zero-emission electric barge, owned and operated by grocery distributor Asko, will be equipped with Eutelsat OneWeb’s latest Kymeta Peregrine u8 flat panel antenna system for the duration of the trial. This antenna system aims to expand ship-board connectivity at sea.

The integration of the Eutelsat OneWeb antenna system on the vessel will 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 Andrè Eriksen, senior vice president of remote and autonomous solutions at Kongsberg Maritime, said, “Seamless connectivity remains 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 the future.”

The Asko barge, which is battery-powered, is one of a pair delivered in 2022. The pair have been operating extensive trials, transporting up to 16 trailers of cargo on each journey across the Oslo Fjord. This operation reduces road travel by 2,000,000km and cuts 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 will be operated by Massterley, a Kongsberg Maritime and Wilhelmsen joint venture company.

Both of the Asko vessels, also known as sea drones, have a permanent bridge for manual operation, and can also be controlled from the Horten ROC. Once the autonomous concept is proven, the bridge will be omitted in future builds.

Seamless connectivity

Kongsberg Maritime‘s Eriksen commented, “Through the successful demonstrations of our remote and autonomous technologies on several groundbreaking pilot projects, including the Asko barges, Kongsberg Maritime has already proved that remote and autonomous technologies are applicable to different vessel types.”

Knut Fjellheim, chief technology innovation officer of Telenor Maritime, commented, “Seamless connectivity remains 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 the future, and we look forward to working with Eutelsat OneWeb and Kongsberg Maritime to see how this project can advance the development of autonomous shipping solutions further.

“We’re grateful to Asko for allowing us to install OneWeb’s latest antenna technology on one of their vessels, which will provide a realistic operating environment to comprehensively demonstrate the low latency, high throughput capabilities of Eutelsat OneWeb’s low Earth orbit satellite service.”

Alexandra Kenworthy, director of maritime and energy at Eutelsat OneWeb, added, “Our work with Telenor Maritime and Kongsberg Maritime plays a key role in demonstrating the new, enhanced and secure capabilities that high-speed low Earth orbit connectivity brings to maritime operators all over the world. This trial is a great example of shared vision, and Eutelsat OneWeb’s collaboration with trusted partners like Telenor Maritime and Kongsberg will continue as we drive digital transformation across the maritime industry. There is huge demand for resilient low-latency connectivity that will enhance business-critical operations as well as improve crew communications for customers everywhere.”

Fjellheim concluded, “This project is incredibly important for the future of autonomous vessels, not only in local fjords and rivers but also in open ocean waters. I am genuinely excited about developing connectivity solutions that will set standards for global connectivity for autonomous vessels. With OneWeb’s LEO coverage and our advanced connectivity platform, we’re on the cusp of achieving 100% uptime for ship connectivity. It’s thrilling to be at the forefront of such cutting-edge innovation.”

In related news, marine robotics company Ocean Infinity recently received support from the government of Tasmania to open a robotic ship operations center in Australia. Click here to read the full story.