Simulation-based assessment of remote pilotage feasibility in the Baltic Sea: insights from the Väinameri fairway and Irbe Strait

Abstract

Advances in digital navigation and autonomous technologies have accelerated interest in remote pilotage as a means of improving maritime safety, efficiency, and environmental performance. However, the operational and regulatory conditions required to enable such systems remain underexplored in semi-enclosed and ecologically sensitive sea areas. This study proposes a simulator-based methodology for evaluating the feasibility of remote pilotage in specific sea corridors. The methodology is applied to two case studies: the Väinameri fairway in Estonia and the Irbe Strait in Latvia. Using full-mission bridge and Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) simulators, a digital test of the Väinameri route was developed to evaluate ship handling, communication latency, and human–machine interaction under controlled conditions. Twenty-four simulation runs were conducted using two representative vessel types. Results show that remote pilotage achieved comparable performance to traditional onboard operations. Test run also indicates that establishment of traffic monitoring infrastructure is a necessity to the successful implementation of remote pilotage. The study concludes that remote pilotage can be simulated using existing maritime systems and proposes the establishment of traffic monitoring system also in the Irbe strait to facilitate the remote pilotage trials to continue to further stages 2 & 3 as proposed.