Kawasaki Successfully Completed Verification of Automated Berthing and Unberthing Operations with Advanced Safety Berthing/Unberthing Assistance System —Safety and Efficiency Improvements for In-Port Vessel Maneuvering, Berthing, Unberthing and Mooring Operations
May 20, 2025
Tokyo, May 20, 2025 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today its success in automated in-port vessel maneuvering, berthing and unberthing operations*1 using Advanced Safety Berthing/Unberthing Assistance System, for which research and development are being carried out jointly with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line) and Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line Kinkai). The operations were conducted as part of system verification tests in real-life operating environments. Following confirmation of successful automated operations, Kawasaki began accepting customer orders for the system.
During development of the Advanced Safety Berthing/Unberthing Assistance System, issues were raised in regard to the technically challenging task of keeping the vessel attitude parallel to the berthing quay amid varying wind conditions and other external influences while maneuvering the ship laterally toward the berthing location. The Kawasaki-developed "Advanced Berthing/unberthing Assistance System - Display Unit”*2 and "Advanced Berthing/unberthing Assistance System - Control Unit”*3 were utilized during verification tests to enable the test vessel to automatically follow a preset course amid winds and waves, from harbor entry to berthing(fender touch). Automated berthing and unberthing operations were successfully completed during both entry into and departure from port, moving ahead and astern.
Normally, berthing and unberthing operations are carried out by skilled crew with thoroughgoing knowledge and experience in vessel maneuvering technique, as well as the specific maneuverability characteristics and mooring equipment features of their own vessel. However, increasing ship sizes have made vessel maneuvering more sophisticated and challenging, while shortages of crew personnel have become a widespread problem throughout society. These have led to demands for improvements in terms of labor savings, reduced skill-level requirement and improved safety management in vessel maneuvering and mooring operations. The introduction of Kawasaki’s Advanced Safety Berthing/Unberthing Assistance System will contribute to significant improvements in the efficiency and safety of these challenging in-port vessel operations. Moreover, the system can be installed on any type of vessel. Kawasaki has applied for Approval in Principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) for the system, and approval is on going .
| Chart: Vessel Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Length overall | 173.34 m |
| Molded breadth | 26.6 m |
| Gross tonnage | 13,950 tons |
Kawasaki is Japan’s only domestic manufacturer involved in engineering for everything from ship propulsion to mooring systems, and works with propulsion equipment, a dynamic positioning system (DPS)*4 for automated ship control, steering gear, deck machinery and more. The company will continue making improvements to the Advanced Safety Berthing/Unberthing Assistance System, supporting all operational areas from berthing and unberthing to ship mooring and mooring management, while deploying the system in an increasing range of real-life applications, in order to drive further advances in the marine shipping industry.
| *1 | Automated berthing and unberthing operations: A ship maneuvering method in which the captain sets vessel speed only, after which the system carries out automated navigation along a preset course to the berthing quay, automatically controls headings, and maintains the ship facing parallel to the quay during berthing. The system is also equipped with features that enable automated deceleration, stopping and heading change operations in response to quay and stopping point distances. |
| *2 | Ship Maneuvering Support Information Display System: A system that provides ship movement prediction information relating to the future course, speed, stopping position and so forth through utilization of ship movement prediction models and the latest sensing technologies. This system provides ship movement predictions with wind effects factored in, as well as ultra-precise information on distances between the ship and quay (down to the centimeter) and berthing speeds during berthing and unberthing operations. Kawasaki has applied for and is awaiting the results of ClassNK Products & Solutions (P&S) certification for this system. |
| *3 | Ship Maneuvering Support Control System: A system that optimally controls ship speed and attitude in response to constantly changing weather conditions, sea conditions and other external factors based on ship movement prediction information. It enables automated maintenance of attitude, positioning and course adherence to ensure that actual ship operations match the operator’s defined course and speed settings, supporting the entire ship maneuvering operations up to berthing. The system can also be used in berthing and unberthing operations in coordination with tugboats, and in berthing operations using integrated control of propulsion and mooring equipment. |
| *4 | A dynamic positioning system, or DPS, utilizes vessel position measurement equipment such as GPS to measure vessel positions in real time, and provides automated control of propulsion systems and rudders to prevent the ship’s straying from its intended position. |
Related Links
Kawasaki Releases a Tension Monitoring System for Mooring Line for Its Safe Berthing/Unberthing Assist System, Realizing Work Efficiency and Safety Improvements via Digitalization of Mooring Operation (April 8, 2024)
https://global.kawasaki.com/en/corp/newsroom/news/detail/?f=20240408_8227
Kawasaki Releases a Tension Monitoring System for Mooring Line for Its Safe Berthing/Unberthing Assist System, Realizing Work Efficiency and Safety Improvements via Digitalization of Mooring Operation (April 8, 2024)
https://global.kawasaki.com/en/corp/newsroom/news/detail/?f=20230105_9168
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