Autonomy for maritime safety

As the maritime industry advances towards safer and more efficient operations, the continued development of robust rules, frameworks, and tools for assessing and assuring autonomous and AI-enabled systems is key to realizing their full potential.

In the RCN-funded innovation project SAFE Maritime Autonomous Technology (SAFEMATE), DNV joined forces with Torghatten Sør, Kongsberg Maritime, Kongsberg Discovery, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) to accelerate the safe development and deployment of such technologies.

The project focused on novel decision support for navigators including developing, testing, and deploying:

• An advanced decision support system capable of detecting and notifying navigators of uncharted obstacles that pose a collision risk.
• Tools and processes to ensure the safe use and deployment of these technologies in real-world operations.

These innovations were tested both in bridge simulators and live conditions aboard the Torghatten ferry Bastø VI, operating between Moss and Horten on the Oslo fjord.

For DNV, SAFEMATE has been a strategic and collaborative platform for shaping the future of maritime safety. It has enabled the development of rules, methods, metrics, and tools that support efficient class services for autonomous navigation systems. This includes the development and use of simulators for efficient testing and contributions to DNV’s new AROS class notation for autonomous and remotely operated vessels.

SAFEMATE directly supports DNV’s ambition to remain the leading classification society for emerging maritime technologies, including certification of autonomous vessels. By strengthening assurance frameworks for autonomy, DNV is helping to enable safer, more efficient, and more sustainable operations across the global fleet.

This three-minute video summarizes key project activities and accomplishments.