Electronic chart display and information systems (Ecdis) can be the “brains” behind the ship operation and management networks needed to deploy automated vessels effectively.
Frank Coles, former head of maritime business at satellite communications giant Inmarsat, says that when he joined UK marine navigational software company Transas in 2015, he saw its potential “to join all the dots. If someone develops an automated ship, you are going to need some form of traffic control”.
