In the final week of November 2024, a Dutch Naval Design consortium consisting of eight organizations conducted extensive trials with two commercial unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in and around Scheveningen Harbour. The trials and related project were funded by the Dutch Ministry of Defence and supported the Dutch Naval Design agenda. During these trials, the unmanned vessels, owned by FUGRO and DEMCON respectively, demonstrated their capabilities under demanding conditions, including an autumn gale.
The trials were coordinated in cooperation with SeaSEC from the CAMPUS@Sea facility in Scheveningen, which served as the command and control centre. Vessel movements within the harbour and at sea were managed in close collaboration with local authorities to ensure safe and efficient operations. The primary focus of the trials was to evaluate the ability of different onboard sensors to deliver high-quality situational awareness, which is essential for autonomous decision-making algorithms. These algorithms are integrated with inputs from remote operators to provide a comprehensive understanding of the situation.
In addition to demonstrating significant technical advancements, the trials provided a valuable platform for cross-domain knowledge exchange among participating organizations. The trials also yielded a wealth of validation data, which is expected to refine current systems and inform future design choices, ensuring continued innovation and development for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
The consortium, consisting of AVR Maritime, Damen Naval, DEMCON, FUGRO, MARIN, RH Marine, and SkyDec, looks back on a highly successful and productive week of collaboration in which steps were made to develop maritime autonomy in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Defence.
