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Advancements in Autonomous Systems for Complex Maritime Operations
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Advancements in Autonomous Systems for Complex Maritime Operations

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2026 | Viewed by 1710

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yong Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: marine structural engineering; offshore artificial intelligence development and applications; subsea pipelines and risers; construction of marine big data; flexible pipes; marine cables and umbilicals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Liang Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: autonomous ships; maritime shipping; artificial intelligence; autonomous marine vehicles

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent years have witnessed significant advancements in autonomous systems that have transformed ocean exploration and development. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASSs) are playing increasingly important roles in promoting our understanding and utilization of ocean resources. However, the intricate ocean environment presents unique challenges, including dynamic weather conditions, unpredictable sea states, limited underwater communication, uncertain hydrodynamics, diverse operational requirements, and mission-specific constraints. These factors complicate the deployment and operation of autonomous systems in maritime applications. This Special Issue aims to collect cutting-edge research that addresses these challenges and advances the field of autonomous maritime systems, providing the academic community with innovative solutions and methodologies for complex maritime operations. 

This Special Issue invites submissions concerning the latest experimental and simulation studies related to autonomous systems in maritime environments. The Guest Editors, together with the Editors of the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, will provide a high-quality review process and ensure the efficient publication of original research and review articles on the following topics:

  • Autonomous systems for maritime shipping and transportation;
  • Oceanbathymetric surveying technologies using AUVs/ASVs;
  • Deep-sea mining automation and remote operation systems;
  • Maritimesearch and rescue operations using autonomous systems;
  • Underwater wireless communication systems for maritime operations;
  • Port automation and autonomous harbor management systems;
  • Offshore renewable energy installation and maintenance automation;
  • Autonomous oil and gas exploration and pipeline inspection;
  • Robot-assistedenvironmental monitoring and data collection;
  • Robot-assistedfisheries management and aquaculture operations;
  • Border surveillance assisted by autonomous systems. 

Prof. Dr. Yong Bai
Dr. Liang Zhao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine engineering
  • maritime operations
  • automation
  • artificial intelligence
  • autonomous surface vehicles
  • autonomous underwater vehicles
  • unmanned aerial vehicles

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

33 pages, 1538 KB  
Article
A Parallel STPA–FTA Risk Assessment Framework for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships: Development and Case Study Application
by Konstantinos Voutzoulidis and Ioannis Tigkas
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(8), 748; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14080748 - 19 Apr 2026
Viewed by 427
Abstract
Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) introduce new safety challenges associated with complex cyber–physical systems, distributed control architectures, and remote supervisory operation. Traditional maritime risk assessment approaches primarily focus on component failures and historical accident data and may therefore be insufficient for capturing interaction-driven [...] Read more.
Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) introduce new safety challenges associated with complex cyber–physical systems, distributed control architectures, and remote supervisory operation. Traditional maritime risk assessment approaches primarily focus on component failures and historical accident data and may therefore be insufficient for capturing interaction-driven hazards arising in autonomous vessel systems. This study develops a parallel and architecturally synchronized risk assessment framework integrating System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) for the safety assessment of MASS. Within the proposed framework, both analyses evolve concurrently within a shared system architecture, enabling explicit traceability between hazards, unsafe control actions, causal scenarios, failure events, and accident propagation pathways. The framework is demonstrated through a case study of a Degree of Autonomy 3 short-sea freight vessel operating in a high-density North Sea traffic environment. The integrated analysis identifies dominant accident pathways related to perception degradation, communication disturbance, authority coordination conflicts, maneuver execution deviations, and incorrect collision-risk assessment. The results illustrate how the framework supports structured safety assessment of MASS while preserving traceability between systemic control deficiencies and accident propagation mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Autonomous Systems for Complex Maritime Operations)
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30 pages, 4729 KB  
Article
Fixed-Time Event-Triggered Fault-Tolerant Formation Control for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Swarms
by Zhuo Wang, Shukai Jiang, Yifan Xue, Xiaokai Mu and Chong Wang
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(12), 2249; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13122249 - 26 Nov 2025
Viewed by 704
Abstract
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) swarms possess advantages such as efficiency, reliability, flexibility, and extensive coverage in underwater operations. However, their coordinated control is challenged by communication interruptions and actuator failures in complex marine environments. This paper proposes a fixed-time event-triggered fault-tolerant formation control [...] Read more.
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) swarms possess advantages such as efficiency, reliability, flexibility, and extensive coverage in underwater operations. However, their coordinated control is challenged by communication interruptions and actuator failures in complex marine environments. This paper proposes a fixed-time event-triggered fault-tolerant formation control method to address these challenges. First, the Prim algorithm and the Hungarian algorithm are employed to reconstruct the communication topology, mitigating AUV disconnections due to communication failures and ensuring formation stability. Second, a fixed-time extended state observer (ESO) is designed to estimate the lumped disturbance arising from model uncertainties, unknown ocean disturbances, and actuator failures. Finally, a performance function is introduced to reformulate error variables, and a fixed-time event-triggered formation control law is developed based on an auxiliary saturation system and an event-triggering mechanism. In addition, this paper demonstrates the stability of the entire closed-loop system, and no Zeno phenomenon will occur. Simulation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method in maintaining robust formation control of AUV systems under adverse conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancements in Autonomous Systems for Complex Maritime Operations)
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