In Russia, the electric ferry "General Chernyakhovsky" has embarked on its first autonomous voyage. It is scheduled to arrive in the port of Kaliningrad on December 21, covering approximately five hundred nautical miles without a captain on board, and will deliver socially important cargo there.
The ceremony dedicated to the start of the ferry's operation in autonomous mode took place today in Moscow at the International Forum "DIGITAL TRANSPORTATION". The First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Andrei Belousov, addressed the forum participants via video link and gave the command to launch the "General Chernyakhovsky" live.
Today, we are launching the "General Chernyakhovsky" sea ferry on its first autonomous voyage. I would like to note that this is not a test launch. This is the start of full-fledged commercial operation of a vessel that should deliver important socially significant cargo to the Kaliningrad region. The launch of the ferry in autonomous mode is the result of work that has been going on for several years. Thanks to the implementation of the project, Russia is one of the world leaders in the development and application of autonomous navigation. I congratulate all project participants. I wish you good luck and give the floor to my colleagues to launch autonomous navigation in Russia!
«General Chernyakhovsky» is one of the first two electric ferries in Russia, that received a certificate of marine autonomous and remotely controlled surface vessels (MANS) from «Rosmorport». The autonomous control system from the domestic developer Sitronics Group allows captains to control vessels from St. Petersburg, from the territory of the «Rosmorport» Remote Control Center.
The autonomous navigation system, the traffic and maneuvering control system, the monitoring and observation system for the vessel's systems, and the optical system for analyzing the surrounding environment and the vessel's condition allow captains to see what is happening at sea. If necessary, they can take over remote manual control or manual control with decision-making support.
In addition to Belousov, other distinguished guests also took part in the ceremony of launching the unmanned electric ferry - Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Alexander Poshivai, Deputy General Director for Maritime Safety of FSUE «Rosmorport» Kirill Gaida and President of Sitronics Group Nikolai Pozhidaev.
According to Pozhidaev, autonomous navigation for Russian vessels, thanks to his company's software and special equipment, will become serial. It will be available not only at sea, but also on the rivers of Russia. The first tests have already been successfully carried out.
Autonomous navigation is designed to improve the safety of navigation. Therefore, the technology will also be developed on river vessels. This autumn, we conducted successful tests of autonomous navigation in river waters, we will refine the solution and implement it next year. We expect that, thanks to our joint efforts, unmanned solutions will find their place in everyday work both at sea and on rivers in the coming years.
In addition to systems for marine autonomous and remotely controlled surface vessels, Sitronics Group is also working on new types of vessels. In the summer of this year, it was the first in Russia, together with the Hydrogen Technology Center of AFC «Sistema», to test a prototype of a hydrogen-powered electric vessel «Ecovolt 1.0».
