engleski

A study into the economic viability of autonomous container shipping: Case study of a 9,400 TEU container vessel

Reduction of costs and an increase in safety are permanent and very often contradictory goals of the maritime sector. Autonomous vehicles appear in all forms of land transport, aerospace engineering, as well as in marine transportation. Autonomous shipping is an emerging topic, where technical, economic, safety and environmental aspects are still not mature enough to significantly increase the percentage of autonomous vessels in the global fleet. This paper deals with the analysis of the economic benefits of autonomous container vessels, by comparing their costs with the costs of the conventional one. The container ship is selected as a test case because of its relatively simple cost assessment scheme and relatively uniform operative profile compared to other ship types (coastal passenger vessels, fishing vessels, etc.). A simplified ship cashflow model is established, where the classical cost scheme (including capital costs, operative costs, voyage costs, etc.) is extended by the potential carbon allowance. Although carbon allowance policies are not introduced into the marine sector, for the time being, the overall design procedure for the ship of the future requires the implementation of a next-generation regulatory framework. Bearing in mind existing regulations set by International Maritime Organization related to Energy Efficiency Design Index, it is important to investigate simultaneously the effect of an increase of ship autonomy both on its environmental and economic performance. The analysis is performed for the Asia-Europe shipping route, where obtained results indicate economic benefits of autonomous container ships over the conventional ones, under the set of analysis assumptions. The presented model can serve as the basis for the investigation of autonomous ships with more complex design and operative features, like short-sea vessels, where a more complex cost assessment scheme will be needed.

autonomous shipping ; cost assessment ; investment costs ; operative costs ; carbon allowance ; container ships

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