Shipping has always been one of the safest modes of transportation. But nowadays, with the advancement of technology and people getting more aware of travel trends, cruising at sea has become a fashion. Most industries demand transportation of their goods through shipping as it is much cheaper than air travel. However, it is noteworthy that cruise ships these days have become fully autonomous and technologically sophisticated. They can be controlled, monitored, and detected through proper communication channels to cross-check their performance parameters and estimate the range characteristics.
Following this, a fully autonomous container ship named “Suzaku” has achieved the milestone of embarking on a round trip of Tokyo Bay and has covered a 790 km (491 miles) journey. This extensive journey has been completed by this 312 ft (95 m) ship container, with the affiliation of around 30 companies working to make this trip triumphant. Communications have been made through the land as well as remote-based controlled programs for the transmission of messages and to handle any type of contingency situation. Unsurprisingly, this mission lasted for a period of 40 hours.
Japan is always at the top of the list of highly developed countries in terms of technology and development. This masterpiece ship container is also the result of the Nippon Foundation, whose Chairman Yohei Sasakawa said, “The achievement of fully autonomous navigation is one way to address issues including a decrease in economic activity associated with an aging population and declining birth rate, insufficient crew capacity, and maritime accidents. This technology, developed in Japan, is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. We also hope to contribute to the creation of international rules for fully autonomous navigation.”
Coupled with this achievement, another appealing and winsome amphibious tourist bus went out on the same mission in March for tourism purposes, and a huge number of people took advantage of this amazing opportunity. Similarly, another ferry car covered a trip of 750 km across Tomakomai, Hokkaido, and Oarai. It was an 18-hour cruise, which was monitored by the controllers on the ground.
On the other hand, this ship has not been put into commercial use yet, which might be due to certain requirements before launching it into the market. But 2025 is the expected year recommended by the Nippon Foundation to introduce this classic ship into the market that has the potential to capture a large amount of market share. It has been estimated that if half of Japan’s markets purchased this container ship alone until 2040, then it would be enough to contribute an amount of US $8 billion to the economy, thereby indicating a positive impact on its growth for the rest of the years.
