State government should commit to supporting development of unmanned and autonomous ships here. The technology is so new that no obvious innovation hub exists yet, and Washington could fill that role.
Last month, Washington state launched Maritime Blue 2050, an initiative that sets out the state’s vision for its maritime industry over the next three decades. There’s a lot to like about Maritime Blue: It is driven by Washington’s long-standing commitment to environmental sustainability; it positions the state to continue its already significant participation in the trillion-dollar global maritime industry; and it draws from the input of key local stakeholders like tribes, environmental groups, labor, business and government. But as Washington thinks about its maritime future, it also has to think critically about how the industry is going to change.
A key change is development of unmanned and autonomous ships. These ships, and the technology that drives them, are already in production around the world. For example, a Norwegian company is currently building the Yara Birkeland, a zero emission, fully electric container ship. The ship is scheduled to launch this year or next with a crew on board, but by 2020, it will be operating autonomously. Other projects that involve unmanned and autonomous shipping technologies are getting underway in countries like Japan, England and Finland.
Washington is in a great position to set itself up as a domestic and global leader for these new maritime technologies. We have all the raw ingredients needed to draw new and existing maritime businesses to the Northwest — a well-established maritime industry, a robust tech sector, access to ports and the Pacific Ocean, research and development laboratories, colleges with maritime training programs, and a clear commitment by the government to grow the maritime sector. And businesses that focus on unmanned and autonomous shipping technologies have the potential to make greener, safer, cheaper ships while also creating new tech and manufacturing jobs in our state.
So what can Maritime Blue do to position Washington to take advantage of the coming changes in the maritime industry? There are three obvious places to start.
First, Maritime Blue and the state government could publicly commit to supporting the development of unmanned and autonomous ships here. The technology is so new that no obvious innovation hub exists yet, and Washington could fill that role. As part of this commitment, Washington could set a priority on supporting projects that aim to make the shipping industry more environmentally friendly. It could also commit to creating training programs for the workers who will be needed to build, maintain and operate these ships.
Second, Washington could take a page out of the Nordic countries’ book and open up a testing area for unmanned and autonomous ships. Last year, for example, Finland designated an open-water area off its coast as a testing site for autonomous maritime technologies. The testing site is part of Finland’s vision to create an environmentally friendly, autonomous maritime sector. A similar testing site here would allow Washington to help create a more sustainable maritime future for itself and the world.
Third, Washington could work with the federal government to create dedicated shipping lanes on the West Coast that unmanned and autonomous ships could use for testing. (Federal law has manning requirements for U.S.-flagged ships.) A good model is the FAA’s new drone pilot program, which allows state, local and tribal governments to partner with the private sector to create more opportunities for drones to fly. Pushing for similar public-private partnerships in the maritime sphere would help put Washington at the forefront of this industry.
Unmanned and autonomous ships are coming, and Washington should think strategically about how it can capitalize on them. Setting the stage now will allow Washington Maritime Blue to meet its goals by 2050.