Autonomous navigation technologies are planned to be used on river vessels and vessels for the Northern Sea Route
The Russian company Sitronics Group plans to introduce its own electric vessel with an autonomous navigation system this year. Company President Nikolai Pozhidaev said that Sitronics hopes to use such technologies on its electric vessels this summer. According to him, the launch of ferries «Marshall Rokossovsky» and «General Chernyakhovsky» in 2023, offline confirmed the functionality of the technology, which means it’s time to take the next step.
Also, the President of Sitronics Group noted that the use of autonomous navigation technology on river vessels is currently being discussed. In addition, the company is preparing to equip ships with this technology for use on the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Northern Sea Route — This is the main sea communication in the Russian Arctic; it runs along the northern coast of Russia through the seas of the Arctic Ocean. This route connects the European and Far Eastern ports of Russia, as well as the mouths of navigable Siberian rivers into a single transport system.
Nikolai Pozhidaev said that, according to statistics, 96% of incidents on water occur due to human fault, and the autonomous navigation system will reduce the level of accidents during navigation. Northern Sea Route — These are complex sailing conditions, when you have to make a lot of decisions and process a lot of information, and an artificial intelligence system can help very well here, Pozhidaev added. By order of Rosatom, Sitronics Group will create services for year-round navigation and safe navigation on the NSR.