At the end of September 2023, the FSUE “Rosmorport” eco-ferries Marshal Rokossovsky and General Chernyakhovsky, which carry out transportation on the Seaport of Ust-Luga – seaport of Kaliningrad line, received the first in Russia certificates of maritime autonomous and remotely operated surface ships (MASS).

Documents issued by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping allow for remote control of vessels with the possibility to switch to manual control when moving at sea, as well as to manual control with decision support, including when passing through narrows waters and entering a port.

The work on transferring the ferries to the mode of autonomous ships has been carried out by FSUE “Rosmorport” together with Sitronics KT since 2022 under The Autonomous Navigation federal project.

Today, the ferries are equipped with a-Navigation equipment, including an autonomous navigation system, an optical system for analyzing the environment and the vessel’s technical condition, a motion and maneuvering control system, as well as a system for checking and monitoring the vessel's systems.

To ensure the remote control of vessels, a Remote Control Center (RCC) of FSUE “Rosmorport” has been established in St. Petersburg which enables monitoring of the surrounding navigation situation, controlling of the main parameters of ferries traffic, as well as remote control of vessels on the high seas. The RCC is equipped with the necessary equipment, in particular a remote control, and is the workplace of an autonomous vessel operator.

The assignment of an autonomous class of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping to the Marshal Rokossovsky and General Chernyakhovsky ferries is an important stage in the development of domestic autonomous navigation technology: this will help to gain practical experience in a-Navigation for the subsequent widespread introduction of autonomous navigation technologies in and outside Russia.