Tugboats have been a particular target for both remote control and autonomous operation, and several vessels in Europe and Asia have already been involved in substantial operational testing programmes. These include Singapore's PSA Marine, which has been a partner in the IntelliTug project, along with Waertsilae and Lloyd's Register using its 2018-built tug PSA Polaris, and PACC Offshore Services Holdings, also of Singapore, employing its 2010-built tug POSH Harvest. The successful use of hazard detection, collision avoidance and ship management systems by these vessels has played a part in persuading Abu Dhabi Ports to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Canadian designer Robert Allan Ltd covering the development of a series of remotely controlled, fully unmanned tugs that will also be able to operate autonomously. Once built, the tugs will join SAFEEN, Abu Dhabi Ports' maritime service arm, which operates a number of service vessels in the Arabian Gulf region. British Columbia-based Robert Allen has also been working on unmanned operational designs for several other types of vessels, including an unmanned firefighting robot specifically developed for situations where the possibility of explosions would endanger crews of manned ships.
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