Inland navigation
Germany's first center for remote-controlled ships opened
Seafar, a Belgian technology and service provider for remote-controlled and crew-reduced inland navigation, has set up the first so-called Remote Operations Center in Germany together with its project partners HGK Shipping and Reederei Deymann.
The location in Duisburg was officially opened on February 28. The remote control center makes it possible to navigate ships on inland waterways from land. This innovative technology counteracts the shortage of skilled workers. The partners are working on using the permits already received for the test operation on the Lower Rhine and on designating further navigation areas for this solution with the authorities.
In Belgium and the Netherlands, these crew-reduced concepts are already being used successfully for various types of inland waterway vessels and will also be controlled in part from the new Seafar site in Duisburg-Ruhrort in future. The Remote Operations Center in Duisburg currently offers three workstations for remotely controlling skippers, known here as ROC Operators, and one workstation for the Traffic Controller, who monitors ship movements in the background and is available as a higher-level contact person.
Using state-of-the-art IT that meets the highest safety requirements, the captains can navigate the inland waterway vessels from a distance using control technology modeled on a driver's cab and an all-encompassing camera system, as if they were operating on the water. The project partners are working closely with the relevant authorities and agencies to gradually expand the permits required for operation in the individual navigation areas of the German inland waterway network.
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