Norwegian shipping company Torghatten AS will launch the world's first commercial autonomous and electric passenger ferry later this year. This will make regular sailings between islands in central Stockholm, Sweden.
The autonomous technology at the heart of the Zeam ferry has been developed for several years by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, which successfully launched a pilot ferry last year as part of its Autoferry project.
Digital captain
The system is now being made commercially available by spin-out company Zeabuz, of which Torghatten AS is a co-owner. It consists of radar and LiDAR to track and avoid other objects on the water and infrared and vision cameras to help the AI-based "digital captain" understand what is happening around the ferry. There are also ultrasonic sensors to enable automatic mooring manoeuvres and GPS for positioning.
The autonomous catamaran ferry will be built by Brødrene Aa and will be 12 x 5 metres. That's enough space to carry 25 passengers (plus half a dozen bicycles) between the islands of Kungsholmen and Södermalm in Stockholm. A 188 kWh battery bank, supplied by ZEM, is charged by a 7.7 kW solar panel on top and propulsion is controlled by an electric motor.
The Zeam ferry is expected to operate 15 hours a day every 15 minutes. Torghatten AS hopes Stockholm will be the first of many cities to adopt the initiative.
