Evaluation of an autonomous, short sea shipping feeder-loop service through advanced simulations

Abstract

Traditionally, container-freight being shipped from central Europe to the coast of Norway has been transported either by road, or by larger containerships to central ports. For the past 3 years the AEGIS consortium has worked to develop a new, disruptive short sea shipping feeder-loop service based on mother and daughter ships [1]. The hypothesis is that introducing smaller, autonomous, battery-powered vessels into the fjords of Norway would open new business areas, provide access to remote regions, and allow shipping companies to take on cargo that could not previously be transported by water. Such a transport system has the potential of reducing cost, GHG emissions and external costs, while increasing frequency of service and the waterborne cargo volume in Europe. One of the main challenges of the mother-daughter logistic system is how transshipment affects defined key performance indicators (KPIs), especially in terms of cost. For this purpose, the SIMPACT tool [2] was developed in the H2020 projects AEGIS and AUTOSHIP. The tool allows for rapid iterations of maritime logistic systems through discrete event scheduling, and estimation of energy, fuel, emission, and cost. This paper will present results from a case-study on two different daughter ship concepts. The concepts are evaluated through cost and environmental KPIs presented in [1], in addition to external costs based on the European handbook on the external costs of transport [3]. Results from the case-studies indicate that transport systems including green daughter-vessels have the potential of being cost competitive and would lower externalities compared to the baseline truck transportation system.

Short Sea Shipping in the Age of Sustainability, Autonomous Navigation and Digitalization

“…It was dedicated to developing a brand-new, environmentally friendly, dependable, adaptable, automated, and autonomous waterborne transportation system for Europe that can link both rural and urban terminals [72]. The AEGIS consortium worked to develop a new, disruptive SSS feeder-loop service based on mother and daughter ships [73]. Additionally, this project leveraged cutting-edge advancements in connected and automated transport, incorporating smaller and more adaptable vessel types, automated cargo handling, autonomous ships, standardized cargo units, and new digital technologies.…”