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The feasibility of unmanned, autonomous merchant vessels is investigated by the EU project MUNIN (Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence in Networks). The ships will be manned while departing and entering port and unmanned during ocean-passage. When unmanned, the ships will be controlled by an automatic system informed by onboard sensors allowing the ship to make standard collision avoidance manoeuvres according to international regulation. The ship will be continuously monitored by a remote shore centre able to take remote control should the automatic systems falter. For the humans in the shore control centre the usual problems of automations remains as well as a pronounced problem of keeping up adequate situation awareness through remote sensing. The big challenge for the project will be to show that an unmanned system is at least as safe as an manned ship system, and to provide the shore control operators with adequate situation awareness. INTRODUCTIONMaritime Unmanned Ship through Intelligence in Networks, abbreviated MUNIN, is the name of a three year EU, 7 th Framework research project started in 2012.The aim of the project is to set a 200 m long dry cargo vessel under unmanned and autonomous control from pilot drop-off to pilot pick-up point. In this project a simulated conventional vessel will be retrofitted with technology required for an unmanned trans-oceanic voyage. The project consortium consists of 8 research and industry partners from 5 European countries:

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