AUSTAL AUSTRALIA REACHES KEY MILESTONE ON PATHWAY TO SAFE AND COMPLIANT MARITIME AUTONOMY, WITH APPROVAL IN PRINCIPLE FOR AROS AUTONOMY CONTROLLER

Austal Australia reaches key milestone on pathway to safe and compliant Maritime Autonomy, with Approval in Principle for AROS Autonomy Controller

Austal Australia has received Approval in Principle (AiP) from classification society DNV, for their Autonomous and Remotely Operated Ships (AROS) Platform Controller, a significant achievement in the journey towards enabling minimally, optionally and uncrewed vessel operations across Austal’s Defence and Commercial product range.

The AROS Controller, designed and developed by Austal at Henderson, Western Australia, is a safety control system that provides a standardised and managed interface between the vessel’s complex engineering systems and the navigational autonomy system. Managing the transfer of information in both directions, constantly checking system health, verifying that requests are valid and safe, and confirming that the vessel is continuing to operate within the operational design domain and operational envelope. It is designed to ensure safer and more compliant operation in Remotely Operated and Autonomous modes.

Approval in Principle, to DNV’s market-leading autonomy guidelines, is a critical step in this journey and highlights the maturity and market readiness of Austal’s product development. With the knowledge gained from this extensive process, Austal will now complete the development, verification and validation processes, and seek full approval for this critical interface.

Sam Abbott, Head of Research and Development at Austal Australia, said: “Austal has been delivering vessel systems integration and autonomation for more than 30 years, and the development of the AROS Controller represents the next step in delivering not only leading vessel automation, but true autonomy.

“The AROS Platform Controller supervises all critical vessel information and enables full autonomy when connected to Austal’s own Integrated Monitoring, Alarm and Control System, MARINELINK-Prime and a compatible Navigational Autonomy System.

“This is a significant milestone for Austal, and we are very pleased to have received Approval in Principle from DNV. Expanding on the successful completion of the Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT) in 2024, also conducted alongside DNV as the classification society, with autonomy partners Greenroom Robotics, this development brings safe, assured and trusted Autonomy one step closer for our customers. DNV’s class guidelines for Autonomous and Remotely Operated Ships have formed a key aspect of the development process and offer a robust and sensible approach to developing the infrastructure needed to deploy autonomy safely. Austal is grateful for the professional and responsive support provided by DNV in both Australia and Norway, and are excited to continue what is a positive and enduring partnership that has held true over many decades.”

Jarle Coll Blomhoff, Head of Section (Digital Ship Systems) at DNV said: “Autonomous and remotely operated ships will be central to the future of maritime operations. Developing such advanced new technology is a complex task, and we are pleased that Austal has chosen to collaborate with DNV to ensure the safety of their new solution is thoroughly verified. The Approval in Principle for the AROS Controller confirms its technical feasibility and marks an important milestone towards full verification, laying the foundation for wider adoption of DNV’s AROS class notation and enabling smarter, safer, and more sustainable ship operations.”

Novel to Austal’s approach, is that this development is focussed on providing a standardised, modular interface between the Navigational Autonomy system and the complex ships systems managed by MARINELINK-Prime, Austal’s own Integrated Monitoring Alarm and Control System (IMACS). The development of this capability ensures that future Austal vessels are truly Autonomy Ready, and when connected to a compatible Navigational Autonomy system, such as Greenroom Robotics’ GAMA, the vessel can become autonomous within existing delivery schedules.

The AROS Controller can be seen in action on Austal’s stand at the 2025 Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney, as part of their Remote Operating Console, developed in partnership with Greenroom Robotics, and the Vantage range of Optionally Crewed concept vessels.

An Approval in Principle (AiP) is an independent assessment of a concept within a defined framework of requirements. It confirms the feasibility of the design and verifies that no significant technical barriers exist to its implementation.

Photo: Antony M DSouza, President and Director Southeast Asia, Pacific and Indian Subcontinent, DNV and Sam Abbott, Head of Research and Development at Austal celebrate the Approval in Principle for the AROS Controller at INDO PACIFIC 2025. (image: Austal)