Dutch Project Advances Autonomous Operations as it Targets Large Ships

A Dutch project contributing to the development of autonomous navigation continues to make progress. By 2023 it had developed critical data and demonstrated its concepts with a Damen patrol boat, and now the vessel is being upgraded for the next round of testing in the summer of 2025.

Known as the Fieldlab Autonomous Sailing Technology (F.A.S.T.) project, it is working with a Damen Stan Patrol 900 patrol boat at its core, as it works to lay the foundation for groundbreaking developments in autonomous ship technology. The boat is 8.6 meters (28 feet in length) and has an operating…