Cooperative Autonomous Robotic Towing System - Exploitation of Autonomous Marine Vehicles in Emergency Towing Procedures

The CART (Cooperative Autonomous Robotic Towing system) Project proposes a new concept for salvage operations of distressed ships at sea based on the development of robotized unmanned marine platforms able to (semi-)automatically execute the high-risk operation of linking the emergency towing system of distressed ships to towing vessels. The CART device will be able to improve operations for safeguarding the environment, helping to reduce maritime oil pollution and risk for human lives. This paper describes the overall project concept, focusing on the developed robotic prototype and its experimental evaluation in real case scenarios.