Shipping companies are racing to get in on the next wave of moving cargo from continent to continent, with major tests on autonomous ships to begin within a couple of years.

Japan's largest container line Nippon Yusen plans to test a remote-controlled vessel across the Pacific Ocean in 2019.  The ship will go from Japan to North America, and there will be a crew on standby for safe operations.  Japan's second- and third-largest shipping lines - Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. - are also at work on fully autonomous shipping technology, but haven't set dates for tests.

Kongsberg maritime of Norway hopes to launch the Yara Birkeland by 2020, after tests in coastal waters in 2019 to carry Yara International ASA fertilizer.  Rolls-Royce Holdings and BHP Billiton are also studying the introduction of autonomous ships without any humans.

Human-Free Autonomous Shipping

Aside from saving money on crew costs, proponents of the technology believe robot ships will be safer.  The European Maritime Safety Agency says that out of 880 maritime accidents that occurred around the world from 2011 to 2015, 62 percent caused by "human erroneous action".