Simulation of a feeder on a port-to-port mission

The path to autonomous shipping is paved with ambitious plans and futuristic concepts. From a realistic perspective,
the transition from man-operated to machine-operated vessels depends on practical solutions for basic requirements, such as situational awareness, steerability and controllability, and flexible mission planning and execution. To develop, implement, and validate the corresponding models and the integration thereof, a generic, stable, and flexible simulation platform is needed.
This paper addresses the simulation of an autonomous feeder vessel sailing round trips between the ports of Piraeus and Mykonos. Using MARIN’s simulation framework XMF, dedicated submodels are integrated into a complete model for simulation of autonomous shipping including all stages of operation, from undocking through transit to docking.
The vessel behaviour and performance during a round trip in typical weather conditions is presented and discussed.