Malaysia-based green technologies solution provider Yinson GreenTech and Norwegian autonomous maritime technology startup Zeabuz AS have teamed up to advance the development of autonomous, remote-controlled electric marine vessel operations.

Yinson GreenTech said in a statement on Monday that they have signed a letter of intent to integrate autonomous and remote-control capabilities into Yinson GreenTech’s fleet of marine electric vessels.

This collaboration was formalized at the Singapore Norway Innovation Conference on November 6, 2024.

It marked a significant step towards decarbonizing Singapore’s maritime industry by combining the power of electrification and autonomous maritime operations.

According to the statement, the collaboration aims to deliver more efficient marine solutions by integrating Zeabuz’s hardware and proprietary software algorithms into Yinson GreenTech’s marinEV fleet of electric vessels.

This aligns with both companies’ shared mission to provide intelligent, crew-optimized marine transportation for the industry.

Critically, by combining autonomous driving technology with electric marine vessels, this collaboration will address the maritime industry’s long-term manpower challenges.

It will reduce the number of crew members required onboard, making maritime operations more efficient.

Additionally, it will enhance the attractiveness of maritime jobs by introducing new, knowledge-based skillsets like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and remote operations.

This aligns with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) Industry Transformation Map , particularly its focus on digitalization.

“To fulfil Yinson GreenTech’s broader vision of building a net-zero world, marinEV believes in harnessing the power of sustainable innovation through strategic partnerships,” said Jan-Viggo Johansen, Managing Director of marinEV.

“Our collaboration with Zeabuz marks a significant step towards accelerating the adoption of autonomous solutions, which will not only enhance the safety and efficiency of maritime operations but also significantly reduce our environmental impact on waterways,” he added.

Øyvind Smogeli, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Zeabuz, said by combining the power of electrification, onboard autonomy, and remote supervisory control, they
are laying a strong foundation for the future of sustainable maritime operations.

“We are excited to deepen our collaboration with Yinson GreenTech to build a future of sustainable, technology-driven marine transport,” he added.

According to the statement, Yinson GreenTech and Zeabuz are committed to accelerating the mass commercial adoption of autonomous electric vessels in the near future.

This collaboration will fully comply with MPA standards and actively contribute to the evolving regulatory landscape in autonomous maritime operations.

By partnering with local institutions of higher learning, they aim to further develop the industry’s capacity to safely and efficiently deploy autonomous maritime operations at scale.

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