Contact and collision incidences are now the most increasing, most frequent and overall the most costly type of accidents in the maritime transport sector, representing 40% of yearly insurance claims and force 1 out of 10 ships to an unplanned dry dock every year costing on average €400,000 per incident. Semi and fully submerged objects are particularly causing havoc to shipping and offshore platforms because they go undetected by state-of-the-art sensors (radars, sonars, optical sensors) presenting an acute need for improved observation capability of the ocean surface layer. A major concern considering the importance of shipping in general (90% of world’s trade), their asset value (up to € 1 Billion cost to build) and the number of people at sea (about 2 Billion transported yearly). Similarly, the maritime security situation is worsening forcing vessels in average to spend €170,000 a year on security related solutions. The project opportunity arises from today’s inability to observe this challenging ocean layer, causing unsatisfying operational risks in a greatly expanding market (with more frequent and more costly security and safety incidents in line with the strong industry expansion). These incidents can be reduced by an appropriate observational sensor like a ladar. It can detect for example drifting growlers (ice floes) or floating containers ahead of a vessel, preventing damaging collisions. The information that the sensor collects can also be directly used for operators to reduce operational cost, for example by accurately observing the sea state as to optimize sail plan models and vessel trim for fuel and emission savings. Such benefits have value for the operators, allowing them to purchase a relatively low cost sensor compared to the costs of an offshore or maritime incident. Moreover, the ladar is complementary to radar, sonar, and other maritime sensors. It would therefore fill a market gap rather than outcompeting existing sensor technologies.

Shipping is a key driver of the EU economy, but dense traffic lanes, tighter schedules, high cost of trained staff and increasingly difficult weather patterns have put serious pressures on sustainability and environmental safety of commercial shipping. Contact and collision incidences are now the most frequent and overall the costliest type of accidents in the maritime transport sector. Accidents force 1 out of 10 ships to an unplanned dry dock stay every year, costing on average €400,000 per incident, and have detrimental impact on the environment due to the release of pollutants into the water. Semi and fully submerged objects cause concern for shipping because they go undetected by state-of-the-art sensors, presenting an acute need for improved observation capability of the ocean surface layer. Aware of this clear market need to increase the global maritime transport industry’s safety, to decrease its environmental impact through collisions and to prepare for a future of autonomous shipping, the present consortium has developed an innovative solution using a unique and novel LADAR system. Our new sensor combines state-of-the-art real-time processing with an advanced object detection and classification algorithm based on machine learning techniques, to detect and classify objects in the ocean surface layer in a range of up to 2nm ahead of the ship. LADAR’s ability for obstacle detection will allow ship operators to operate their vessels efficiently and safely, reducing the risk of collision with other ships, driftwood, mammals or submerged containers. MARINA is a strong and complimentary consortium, where all partners have collaborated together extensively in preceding R&D&I projects. The aim of the project is to advance the system to TRL8, then to qualify the product in real-life operations to reach TRL9 and finally to support the commercial viability. Commercialization is expected to lead to an accumulated revenue of €786m 5 years post-project.