Ferry operations at the push of a button

Norwegian ferry operator Bastø Fosen is taking full advantage of all-electric propulsion by adopting Kongsberg Maritime’s advanced manoeuvring capabilities and making maritime history in the process.

The company, which operates six ferries on the Horten to Moss route, has converted three of its vessels to all-electric propulsion. They are the world’s largest all-electric ferries and ply the 30-minute route on a frequent schedule, on one of the country’s busiest ferry connections. Bastø Fosen also operates two smaller ferries on the Svelvik to Verket route.

To meet the needs of vessel operators that could gain significant advantages with a dynamic positioning (DP) control system, but do not need the standards and certification involved with DP-class rating, Kongsberg Maritime now offers a suite of products and functions called Advanced Manoeuvring. This enables vessels to have functionalities normally associated with a DP rating.

"For Advanced Manoeuvring, though it is certainly possible with a combustion motor or diesel engine, you get more value from the system with an all-electric ferry, ” says Vegard."

He notes that precise operations that require quick adjustments, such as in harbours or near the dock, benefit from all electric power, which is more responsive to changes in power than a traditional engine. It is also easier to set up the control system for Advanced Manoeuvring on a fully electrified vessel.

There are two Advanced Manoeuvring functions that Kongsberg Maritime introduced to the Bastø Fosen all-electric ferries. One is Auto Docking, which uses a combination of sensors and thruster control linked to the algorithmic control found on a DP system, to automatically dock a ferry. The other is Auto Crossing, which uses data gathered from ferry transits to create and follow a route which optimises the use of a vessel’s propellers and power during automated trip phases. For the operator, the demands of a ferry journey are reduced to pushing buttons on the Manoeuvre Mode Switch.

“The system is built up over many months with the recording of navigators’ actions.” The captain can simply push a button to activate or deactivate Auto Docking or Auto Crossing, depending on the vessel’s position in its voyage. The captain can also take manual control at any moment. For the Bastø Fosen ferries, Kongsberg Maritime embedded these functions in the Collision Avoidance system, thereby using information from ECDIS and situational awareness data to maintain course and speed. 

The system worked so well, and so easily, that it created a new problem for Kongsberg Maritime engineers. The system required data from thousands of crossings by the Bastø Fosen ferries, including data from manual operation. According to Sæterlid, the crew liked using the Advanced Manoeuvring system so much that the company’s engineers found they weren’t getting enough data from manual operations during the initial phases of the project.These operations and experiments provide a first, tantalising glimpse into the promise of automation and electrification for the maritime industry.

The Auto Crossing and Auto Docking functions are building blocks for future remote and autonomous operations. In just a few years, Kongsberg Maritime has developed a leading position in this remarkable technology. In part, this is because of the company’s experience over decades of DP systems development, which is the basis for the functions of Advanced Manoeuvring. Kongsberg Maritime also used the technology behind Auto Crossing and Auto Docking to automate an 80-metre container vessel, Yara Birkeland, the world’s first fully electric container vessel. Other vessels have also started using Advanced Manoeuvring solutions.