For centuries the world sent ships and seafarers to South Africa in search of profit. South Africa now looks to profit from the world by sending back a boat that needs no sailors.
Whereas foreign ships sometimes arrived uninvited in local waters, South Africa’s first unmanned surface vessel (USV) can expect a warm welcome from its Saudi Arabian buyer.
The 9.5m aluminium boat dubbed the Prowler is under construction in Gqeberha and could be delivered by October.
While foreign seafarers had to rely on their wits to survive treacherous coastlines, South Africa’s unmanned vessel will navigate with AI and advanced robotics, making it largely immune from human error.
The “proof of concept” boat is intended for search and rescue, but could in future have multiple applications, including coastal surveillance, firefighting and even as a superyacht tender.
“Most definitely this is the first one to be designed and built here in South Africa,” project leader Eddie Noble of Noble Concentric Solutions said this week.
“It’s the first to be built, integrated and tested here in South Africa, and more specifically it is the first multipurpose unmanned vessel that can be used for most maritime functions and quite easily adapted for just about any function you want.”
The R37m build involves two other local companies: designers Icarus Marine and builders Legacy Marine. It is a significant milestone for South Africa’s burgeoning blue economy, which is considered a job-creation priority area under the government’s Operation Phakisa.
The South African USV will pack a wide range of navigation sensors, an electro-optic camera system and a long-range acoustic device. It can accommodate a tethered drone for additional surveillance. There is space for a water cannon on the bow for remote firefighting functions.
Much of the guidance tech will be provided by UK-based RoboSys Automation, which specialises in smart-shipping and maritime autonomy software. It said the Prowler could be “launched from ashore or from floating platforms such as logistic support ships, frigates and other mothercraft, to perform patrol, surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue functions, among others”.
“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this first contract through Legacy Marine,” said the company’s chief strategy officer, Nigel Lee.
The AI system allows the vessel to be fully autonomous, using an advanced collision avoidance system “that enables the remote operations-centre team to autonomously operate the vessel with the assurance that it will actively avoid collision and alert the teams with information and reasoned decision aids”, RoboSys said in a statement.
Bruce Tedder, chair of the South African Boat Builders Export Council, described the USV project as “amazing”.
“This type of boat could have many uses, such as anti-poaching, patrolling our maritime borders for illegal trawlers, all of that kind of work and at super low cost and super efficiency. And one could have multiple boats patrolling 24/7, cruising around the coast and sending back data and photos. We need to see how this might be used in a real world situation.”
Though USV production has already commenced, the manufacturers must wait for the regulators to catch up with them — there is no legislation governing this class of unmanned vessel.
The class rules are still being discussed at international level, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa).
“We are aware of a trial for the purposes of research,” Samsa deputy chief operations officer Vernon Keller said this week, referring to the Prowler. “However ... there is no legislation yet about [maritime autonomous surface ship] vessels — these are still being discussed in great length at the International Maritime Organisation.
“The vessel will be limited to very specific conditions if it is ever completed and would have to be built with normal construction regulations for small vessels, collision regulations and the rest. We would need to set up conditions to manage the vessel as a special research vessel.”
The Prowler would join a series of recent success stories from a local maritime sector that produces a wide range of craft, from kayaks to superyachts.
South Africa is already a major exporter of recreational boats, notably catamarans, but to date has never ventured into USV territory. However global demand for USV vessels could see South Africa emerge as a player given its established boatbuilding reputation and relatively low build costs compared with other boatbuilding countries.
Another potential advantage is South Africa’s track record in building unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones, notably in the defence sector.
Unmanned vessels are likely to play an increasingly prominent role in locations that could be dangerous for human crews, such as in the Red Sea where currently Houthi rebels are targeting shipping, prompting many companies to reroute their ships via the Cape.
A Cape Town yard has grabbed global sailing attention with a new “Hopyacht” concept — an all-electric demountable catamaran that can fold up into a single shipping container. Another Cape Town yard, Hammer Yachts, recently won an award for a new-generation power catamaran featuring a double stepped hull and a wave piercing bow.
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