As part of DiVINE’s Knowledge Hub, we spoke with Ørnulf Jan Rødseth, Manager for Maritime Digitalisation and Automation at ITS Norway and Manager of the Norwegian Forum for Autonomous Ships (NFAS). In this interview, he shares his perspectives on maritime digitalisation, autonomous shipping, standardisation, and the lessons these developments offer for the future digital transformation of inland waterway transport.
- Could you introduce yourself and your current work/role?
My name is Mr. Ørnulf Jan Rødseth and I have an MSc in cybernetics and electronic engineering from the Norwegian Institute of Technology (now NTNU) in 1983. Since 1995 I have worked with maritime digitalization, automation and autonomy. I have mostly worked in research institutes, but also with four years’ experience from the maritime electronics industry. Today I work for ITS Norway, a not-for-profit interest organization for intelligent transport systems, where I am in charge of maritime digitalization and automation. I am also manager for the Norwegian Forum for Autonomous Ships (NFAS), a more informal interest organization for autonomous ships. In ITS Norway I spend significant time on standardisation, and I am a member of ISO TC8 and IEC TC80. I regularly meet at IMO as observer for ISO, is a member of the IMO FAL Expert Group on Data Harmonization (EGDH) and I work closely with IMO and its member organizations on accelerating the digitalization of the maritime sector.
I mostly work with MASS (“Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships”), i.e. IMO-approved sea going ships, but I have also been involved in inland ship operations through various EU projects.
- Key developments in maritime digitalisation: From your perspective, what have been the most important developments or milestones in maritime digitalisation and autonomous shipping in recent years?
Maritime digitalization suffers greatly from lack of standards, which in turn is difficult to develop due to strong silos in the different types of shipping markets as well as between different perspectives on digitalization from the main organizations in the area, e.g. the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). A very important development is the establishment of the IMO Compendium in 2019 as a cooperation between IMO, World Customs Organization (WCO), ISO, and UNECE[1]. This has acted as a focal point for the organizations and industry and raised a much stronger awareness of the importance of standards in a relatively small sector.
For autonomous ships, the completion of the voluntary IMO MASS code is arguably the newest and perhaps most important development. This document clarifies many aspects of MASS and promises to make the approval process simpler. Apart from this, I would say that the development and testing of autonomous ships dedicated to specific maritime operations, such as “Yara Birkeland”, the ASKO ships, and “Reach Remote” have been very important to the development of useful MASS technology.
- Lessons learnt from implementation: Based on your experience, what are the key lessons learned when developing and implementing digital and automated solutions in the maritime sector (e.g. in terms of technology, governance, data sharing, and stakeholder cooperation)?
The main takeaway is that projects must be built on a sound business model. Autonomous ships are not just conventional ships without a crew: They must be designed for their intended purpose and the “level of autonomy” must be fitted to the operations they are intended to perform. Typically, successful autonomous ships will be used in new types of logistics operations, e.g. to transfer truck transport to sea.
- Relevance for inland waterway transport: To what extent do you see approaches and solutions from maritime digitalisation and autonomous shipping being transferable to inland waterway transport? What are the main opportunities and limitations?
Both regulations and business models are different between sea and inland. That has an impact on what of the MASS developments that can be used in inland shipping. However, the new logistics systems that are being developed may be transferrable. Also principles for safe navigation and machinery control as well as connections to remote control may be reused to some extent.
- Recommendations for DiVINE / IWT digitalisation: What your recommendations would you give to support the digitalisation of inland waterway transport?
Standardization is probably also important in inland shipping to support easier scaling of solutions. Working standards must be based on true consensus and cooperation between stakeholders.
Also, looking for new business models and logistics solutions may make introduction of digitalization and automation easier. It is always much more complicated to turn a several hundred year old business around than to develop a new model.
