BHP Billiton with development for autonomous cargo ships

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, is studying the introduction of giant, automated cargo ships to carry everything from iron ore to coal as part of a strategic shift that may disrupt the $334 billion global shipping industry. BHP, which charters about 1,500 ships a year for around a quarter of a billion metric tons of iron ore, copper and coal, and wants to deploy technology and become independent of the old sailing model, which takes time to move crews from one place to another.

The development of autonomous ships will help the company to react more quickly to specific customer requirements. For example, a 12-day trip from Australia to China will last for about 9 to 10 days, because there will be no need for a crew, that in most cases is waiting to arrive from other country.

The vision of the company is that the ships are driven by gas and fully autonomous. The technology, like the autonomous vehicles, will use multiple stereo cameras and GPS modules to navigate in the surrounding environment. Rolls Royce Holding is one of BHP's partners, and has already developed a virtual prototype. Rolls Royce promises that in 2020 it will now have an autonomous ship for shorter distances near the coasts and the mooring itself will be under the control of a port operator.

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

Jr Trader Petar Milanov

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