Yinson GreenTech and Zeabuz Sign a Letter of Intent to Advance the Development of Autonomous, Remote-controlled Electric Marine Vessel Operations
11 November 2024
Yinson GreenTech and Zeabuz AS, a leading autonomous maritime technology company, have signed a Letter of Intent to integrate autonomous and remote-control capabilities into Yinson GreenTech’s fleet of marine electric vessels. This collaboration was formalised at the Singapore Norway Innovation Conference on 6 November 2024. It marked a significant step towards decarbonising Singapore’s maritime industry by combining the power of electrification and autonomous maritime operations.
The collaboration aims to deliver more efficient marine solutions by integrating Zeabuz’s hardware and proprietary software algorithms into Yinson GreenTech’s marinEV fleet of electric vessels. This aligns with both companies’ shared mission to provide intelligent, crew-optimised marine transportation for the industry.
Jan-Viggo Johansen, Managing Director of Yinson GreenTech’s marinEV (front row, left) and Øyvind Smogeli, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Zeabuz (front row, right), signed a Letter of Intent to advance the development of autonomous, remote-controlled electric marine vessel operations, in the presence of witnesses, Arne Kjetil Lian, Director, Innovation Norway Singapore (back row, left), Kenneth Lim, MPA Assistant Chief Executive (Industry & Transformation) (back row, centre) and His Excellency Leif Trana, Ambassador of Norway to Singapore (back row, right), at the Singapore Norway Innovation Conference on 6 November 2024
Critically, by combining autonomous driving technology with electric marine vessels, this collaboration will address the maritime industry’s long-term manpower challenges. It will reduce the number of crew members required onboard, making maritime operations more efficient. Additionally, it will enhance the attractiveness of maritime jobs by introducing new, knowledge-based skillsets like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and remote operations. This aligns with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) Industry Transformation Map1, particularly its focus on digitalisation.
“To fulfil Yinson GreenTech’s broader vision of building a net-zero world, marinEV believes in harnessing the power of sustainable innovation through strategic partnerships,” said Jan-Viggo Johansen, Managing Director of marinEV. “Our collaboration with Zeabuz marks a significant step towards accelerating the adoption of autonomous solutions, which will not only enhance the safety and efficiency of maritime operations but also significantly reduce our environmental impact on waterways.”
“By combining the power of electrification, onboard autonomy, and remote supervisory control, we are laying a strong foundation for the future of sustainable maritime operations,” said Øyvind Smogeli, CEO and Co-Founder of Zeabuz. “We are excited to deepen our collaboration with Yinson GreenTech to build a future of sustainable, technology-driven marine transport.”
Yinson GreenTech and Zeabuz are committed to accelerating the mass commercial adoption of autonomous electric vessels in the near future. This collaboration will fully comply with MPA standards and actively contribute to the evolving regulatory landscape in autonomous maritime operations. By partnering with local institutions of higher learning, we aim to further develop the industry’s capacity to safely and efficiently deploy autonomous maritime operations at scale.
