Projekt

Ferry Go!

Autonomous ferries in the German-Dutch Wadden Sea

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Background

Ferry traffic in the Dutch and German Wadden Sea has a long tradition, but faces major challenges. Due to the shortage of skilled workers, shipping is under pressure to recruit staff. In addition, there are increasingly high demands on efficient ship operations, low energy consumption, increased ship safety and better use of (port) infrastructure. Innovations are of crucial importance here. The use of intelligent systems for (partially) autonomous shipping can help to meet these challenges.

Factsheet NL
Factsheet DE

News

Artificial Intelligence for Navigation and Route Planning in Shipping

Pressreleases & Presentations

Kick-off Ferry Go!

Pressreleases & Presentations

“Sally”, the DLR research vessel, is used to test and optimise the virtual navigation systems under real conditions during test trips in the harbour and Wadden Sea.

Goal

The aim of the project is to develop autonomous ferries in the German-Dutch Wadden Sea. The project aims to investigate and test perspectives and concrete requirements for the use of (partially) autonomous ferries on both sides of the border.

 

The expected outcome of Ferry Go! is to develop a system for autonomous ferries in the Wadden Sea that can simulate largely unmanned ship operations and where human interaction only occurs in emergencies. Real test results in the project should lead to insights into the requirements for autonomous ferry services. In addition to technological issues (including artificial intelligence), this mainly concerns nautical, shipbuilding, safety and legal aspects, as well as acceptance issues among ship personnel and passengers.

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The sailing profiles of ferries like this one are recorded in the project, including sailing areas, sailing times, maneuverability and navigation requirements. 

The collected data is used to create digital visualizations of the sailing profiles and to test navigation tasks in a virtual environment.

Project partners

project funding

The Ferry Go! project is being implemented as part of the Interreg VI A Germany-Netherlands programme and is co-financed with 1.97 million euros by the European Union, the MB Niedersachsen and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the provinces of Groningen and Friesland.