Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) and Ferry Sunflower Limited (President: Mitsujiro Akasaka; Headquarters: Oita-shi, Oita Prefecture) today announced their intent to conduct a trial use of the “Berthing Aid System,” which is under development by Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. (President: Yukio Furuno; Headquarters: Nishinomiya-shi, Hyogo Prefecture) using the large-scale car ferry Sunflower Gold, which plies the Kobe-Oita route.

The “Berthing Aid System” measures the exact distance and angle between the hull and the pier, based on information obtained from LiDAR and satellite compasses, and displays the results on multiple screens.

This system was developed to improve the safety and efficiency of berthing operations, which were conventionally conducted visually by crewmembers based on their experience.

In this trial use, MOL and Ferry Sunflower will verify the usability of the system, such as the ease with which crewmembers can understand the displayed measurement results when looking at the system screen.

The two MOL Group companies also aim to support developing and commercialize a system considering safety from crewmembers’ point of view by exchanging opinions with the ferry captain and crewmembers.

The MOL Group continually develops and applies technologies and systems that reduce the risk of accidents and enhances vessel operating safety not only within the group but also throughout the ocean shipping industry.

Trial period: September 2022 – March 2023
Trial vessel: Sunflower Gold (Kobe – Oita)
Gross tonnage: 11,178 tons/LOA: 165.5m/Breadth: 27.0m
Passenger capacity: 716/Vehicle capacity: 147 trucks, 75 passenger cars

About the ‘Berthing Aid System’

MOL also conducted a sea trial of “Berthing Aid System” in the MOL-led “sea trial of autonomous sailing on a commercial containership and car ferry” (January-February 2022) (*), as part of the unmanned ship project MEGURI2040, backed by The Nippon Foundation. In this trial, based on the results obtained from the “MEGURI2040” demonstration, the two MOL Group companies are simplifying the system installation on the vessel to improve the usability of the system in advance of its commercial implementation.