Norled, Remota and Seam partner on remote, autonomous ferry ops

Norled, Remota AS and Seam AS have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to collaborate on the further development and operation of a control center for marine operations and autonomous operations of ships.

As informed, the three companies plan to build on Remota’s already established control center for marine and semi-autonomous vessel operations, and further develop this to include control of autonomous operations.

Through a joint control center environment, the parties want to share experiences, collaborate on technological solutions, promote standardization and utilize cross-functional synergies.

“We have many vessels and crossing that we would like to make more autonomous in order to increase safety and efficiency for our passengers and crew. Already back in 2001 we performed our first pilot for auto crossing and auto docking, and we will this year start our third pilot. Autonomous navigation is taking the technology to the next level and we are excited to join forces with our partners SEAM and Remota to do so,” said Erlend Hovland, chief technology officer at Norled.

“We are firm believers in competency transfer between different industries. We have extensive experience from remote operations from the offshore oil and gas industry. Both the technology and competence can be transferred to operation of car and passenger ferries, but we need innovative operators such as Norled to pave the way for this development. The ultimate benefit is substantial cost savings and smaller environmental footprint from vessel operations,” stated Sveinung Soma, CEO of Remota.

“This is a very exciting and innovative development project, which will enable a possible generational shift for vessel operations. We are incredibly proud to take part in this exciting collaboration with Remota and Norled,”commented CEO at SEAM, Gunvald Mortvedt.

The LOI was signed at the Nor-Shipping 2023 industry event at Lillestrøm, outside Oslo, Norway.

Remota is a joint venture between DeepOcean, Solstad Offshore and Østensjø Group, set up to fast-track the adoption of remotely managed services in order to drive down operating costs and emissions for the marine and offshore industries. The firm owns and operates advanced onshore Remote Operations Centers (ROCs),

The ROCs operate remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and underwater drones for the subsea oil and gas industry. However, Remota’s intention has always been to expand its service offering to other industries including offering remote operations and semi-autonomous maritime services to existing vessels. 

Meanwhile, Norled has over 70 vessels and operates ferry and express boat services from the Oslofjord to Troms County. The company has invested significantly in new types of vessels and eco-friendly technology, such as the world’s first electrical ferry in 2015 and the world’s first vessel running on liquid hydrogen in 2023.

To remind, the first hybrid battery-electric express ferry joined Norled’s fleet in February this year.