MEGURI2040 Second Stage Results Announced: 4 Demonstration Ships Obtain MLIT Autonomous Ship Certification
Tokyo Keiki announced that 4 demonstration ships in the MEGURI2040 project obtained MLIT certification for autonomous navigation and have begun commercial operations.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 10, 2026 at 20:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 11, 2026 at 00:25 (4h 25m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 20, 2026 at 02:23 (217h 57m after Collected)
Tokyo Keiki Inc. (Headquarters: Ota-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Tsuyoshi Ando; hereinafter 'Tokyo Keiki') is participating in the fully autonomous ship project 'MEGURI2040' (hereinafter, MEGURI2040) promoted by the Nippon Foundation. On March 27, 2026, the company announced that all four demonstration ships in the project's second stage passed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's ship inspection as autonomous ships and commenced commercial operation as such.
MEGURI2040 is a project promoted by the Nippon Foundation since 2020 aiming for the realization of unmanned autonomous ships and the stable transport of people and goods. It tackles urgent challenges facing the maritime industry, such as crew shortages due to a declining birthrate and aging population, and accidents caused by human error.
Fifty-three domestic companies agreeing with the project's purpose and social significance formed the DFFAS+ (Designing the Future of Fully Autonomous Ships Plus) consortium, advancing technological development and efforts toward social implementation by utilizing their respective strengths. Tokyo Keiki participated in the DFFAS+ consortium and worked on developing the ship maneuvering control function for the demonstration ship 'Genbu.'
Key Points of the Demonstration Experiment and Development
The DFFAS+ consortium designed and developed the autonomous ship not as a standalone technology, but as an integrated navigation system combining onboard systems, communication systems, and onshore support systems.
The demonstration ships encompass multiple vessels with different applications and operating conditions, such as cargo ships and passenger ships. They possess autonomous navigation functions equivalent to autonomous driving Level 4, implemented as new builds or retrofits (adding new functions to existing equipment to improve performance) on existing vessels. The design combines functions like peripheral recognition, integrated display of navigational status, prediction of future behavior, and formulation of collision avoidance/route plans, premised on autonomous judgment with human monitoring and intervention.
These vessels ensure operational safety and redundancy by operating in coordination with a Fleet Operation Center (a two-base system consisting of permanent and mobile centers) capable of simultaneously monitoring and supporting multiple vessels via stable communication links using satellite and cellular networks.
Tokyo Keiki's Development and Implementation Details
Tokyo Keiki implemented the ship maneuvering control function it developed into the automatic ship maneuvering controller (Drive Train Controller: DTC) of the demonstration ship 'Genbu.' With this function, in addition to rudder control during open-sea navigation by conventional track control systems, maneuvering control at low vessel speeds, including thruster control during berthing and unberthing, became possible. It is also equipped with the DIF (DTC Interface), the information display for the DTC, to consolidate and display necessary information for berthing and unberthing control. This achieves seamless hull control throughout the entire voyage sequence of 'unberthing,' 'open-sea navigation,' and 'berthing,' contributing to safe autonomous navigation.
The DTC established coordination with the main engine control through joint development with Nabtesco Corporation and acquired a Technology Qualification (TQ) certificate from ClassNK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai) on January 20, 2026. This confirms its safety as a maneuvering controller for autonomous ships.
In addition, the development of high-precision motion sensors and electronic inclinometers (TI-100 series) necessary for sensor integration in autonomous ships, as well as the joystick controller...
MEGURI2040 is a project promoted by the Nippon Foundation since 2020 aiming for the realization of unmanned autonomous ships and the stable transport of people and goods. It tackles urgent challenges facing the maritime industry, such as crew shortages due to a declining birthrate and aging population, and accidents caused by human error.
Fifty-three domestic companies agreeing with the project's purpose and social significance formed the DFFAS+ (Designing the Future of Fully Autonomous Ships Plus) consortium, advancing technological development and efforts toward social implementation by utilizing their respective strengths. Tokyo Keiki participated in the DFFAS+ consortium and worked on developing the ship maneuvering control function for the demonstration ship 'Genbu.'
Key Points of the Demonstration Experiment and Development
The DFFAS+ consortium designed and developed the autonomous ship not as a standalone technology, but as an integrated navigation system combining onboard systems, communication systems, and onshore support systems.
The demonstration ships encompass multiple vessels with different applications and operating conditions, such as cargo ships and passenger ships. They possess autonomous navigation functions equivalent to autonomous driving Level 4, implemented as new builds or retrofits (adding new functions to existing equipment to improve performance) on existing vessels. The design combines functions like peripheral recognition, integrated display of navigational status, prediction of future behavior, and formulation of collision avoidance/route plans, premised on autonomous judgment with human monitoring and intervention.
These vessels ensure operational safety and redundancy by operating in coordination with a Fleet Operation Center (a two-base system consisting of permanent and mobile centers) capable of simultaneously monitoring and supporting multiple vessels via stable communication links using satellite and cellular networks.
Tokyo Keiki's Development and Implementation Details
Tokyo Keiki implemented the ship maneuvering control function it developed into the automatic ship maneuvering controller (Drive Train Controller: DTC) of the demonstration ship 'Genbu.' With this function, in addition to rudder control during open-sea navigation by conventional track control systems, maneuvering control at low vessel speeds, including thruster control during berthing and unberthing, became possible. It is also equipped with the DIF (DTC Interface), the information display for the DTC, to consolidate and display necessary information for berthing and unberthing control. This achieves seamless hull control throughout the entire voyage sequence of 'unberthing,' 'open-sea navigation,' and 'berthing,' contributing to safe autonomous navigation.
The DTC established coordination with the main engine control through joint development with Nabtesco Corporation and acquired a Technology Qualification (TQ) certificate from ClassNK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai) on January 20, 2026. This confirms its safety as a maneuvering controller for autonomous ships.
In addition, the development of high-precision motion sensors and electronic inclinometers (TI-100 series) necessary for sensor integration in autonomous ships, as well as the joystick controller...