Technology and the future of shipping
Project 01 · Corridor concept
Project Green Caterpillar
The corridor end to end: an autonomous ocean link with no one aboard, then the coastal and port phase, with pilotage and fleet oversight conducted from ashore. One trade lane, one repeating route, and the place where autonomy and new fuels can be proven first.
How the corridor works
Open an AIS display between Western Australia's iron ore ports and China and you see a near-continuous column of bulk carriers on the same track, loaded north and in ballast south. Captain Griffiths calls it the green caterpillar.
The project asks whether autonomy and new fuels are best introduced by trade lane rather than ship by ship, starting on one of the most repetitive, lowest-variance ocean routes in the world.
- A corridor that already exists: no new infrastructure to build
- Concentrated tonnage suits a fuel transition as much as autonomy
- Qualified people kept aboard for the coastal and port phase
- Built around the IMO MASS Code and Australia's port and coastal state role
Project 02 · Alternative fuels
Decarbonisation
For the first time, shipping is moving to fuels that carry less energy per tonne and per cubic metre than the fuel they replace. Seven fuels compared on a Capesize run from the Pilbara to China: what ammonia, methanol, LNG, hydrogen and the rest cost in tank space, bunkering stops and emissions, and what that means for safe navigation, pilotage and the people aboard.
Project 03 · MV Southern Cross: a theoretical refit design
Vessel autonomy
The IMO MASS Code took effect in July 2026 on a voluntary basis, with a mandatory Code to follow. MV Southern Cross is a theoretical interim design: an existing Capesize refitted, or a lower-cost build, ahead of full modernisation. Ammonia fuel, sensor towers and a manual bridge take-over, with pilot boarding and mooring stations for the attended coastal and port phase.