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Japan is banking on the world’s first self-propelled container ships to keep its aging economy competitive.
Over the past three weeks, Japanese freight companies have launched two of the world’s first fully self-propelled container ships. The first, the 95-meter vessel Mikage, covered a distance of 161 nautical miles between Tsuruga and Sakai in late January, Quartz reports.
The ship uses its radar, sensors, cameras and satellite systems to navigate autonomously. In fact, the ship docks entirely on its own, using drones to drop ropes so dockers can anchor the ship. A second self-propelled vessel, the Suzaka, made a voyage between Tokyo Bay and Ise Bay on February 5.
A partnership between the nonprofit Nippon Foundation, freight company Mitsui Lines and state-owned Japan Railway Construction has been experimenting with self-driving ferries, freighters and even amphibious trucks for some time now. Using this technology, the partnership hopes Japan won’t see profitable business slip away due to its aging demographics.
Japan beats Scandinavia
Norway and Finland would have just missed out on this world premiere. The Norwegian ship Yara Birkeland, for example, made its maiden voyage in November 2021, but with a human crew on board. In 2018, the two Nordic countries also tested self-propelled ferries. But no country had yet succeeded in putting autonomous container ships on the high seas.
The fact that Japan is taking the initiative to launch self-propelled ships this year has everything to do with the aging population discussed earlier. Japan’s freight transport industry is facing a growing shortage of workers. According to the Nippon Foundation, this problem will only get worse in the future. Major international shipping companies are also reportedly facing exhaustion from seafarers who have spent too long at sea during global port blockades during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Maersk boss doesn’t see tech becoming efficient anytime soon
Yet the cost of workers remains extremely low for freight companies compared to the money spent on fuel, maintenance and other operational costs, Quartz reports. For example, Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company, spends 15 times less on salaries than on the maintenance of its cargo ships.
In other words, cargo companies cannot yet earn much by launching self-propelled ships. Maersk CEO Søren Skou incidentally told the Bloomberg news agency in 2018 that he does not expect huge container ships to be allowed to sail without a human crew on board for the moment. “I don’t think it will promote efficiency, not in my time,” concludes the boss of the world’s largest container shipping company.
