Humanoid & robot atlas
Mikage (autonomous container ship trials)
Photo: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines consortium (official image), from nippon-foundation.or.jp. Image policy
Pilot useJapanSupervised

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines consortium · autonomous vessel

Mikage

autonomous container ship trials

A small domestic container feeder that detects other ships with AIS, radar and visible and infrared cameras, plans its own avoidance manoeuvres and uses drones to pass heaving lines when mooring, with monitoring from shore. It is one of the four Stage 2 vessels in Japan's push for Level 4-equivalent coastal shipping.

Price
—Service vessel, not sold
Autonomy
SupervisedHow it runs
Driverless
Not yetSafety driver on board
Fleet
1Reported; details below
Speed
—Not published
Range
—Not published
Compare

Why it matters

The Nippon Foundation says it was the first operating container ship to use fully autonomous navigation, and the first to use drones to carry mooring lines.

Real-world use

On 24-25 January 2022 the 749 GT ship sailed 270 km from Tsuruga to Sakaiminato overnight; it returned for MEGURI2040 Stage 2 demonstrations starting July 2025 around Hiroshima, Iyomishima and Kobe.

Timeline

First shown
2022-01-24
Released
Not yet
MEGURI2040 third demonstration test, Tsuruga to Sakaiminato

Maker

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines consortiumCompany

How it drives

Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.

Driverless status
Safety driver on board
Where it runs
Tsuruga-Sakaiminato (2022); Hiroshima, Iyomishima and Kobe (Stage 2, 2025)
Fleet
1 vessel (Nippon Foundation)
Rides, miles or loads
270 km overnight voyage, Jan 2022 (Nippon Foundation)

Public attention

How much public attention Mikage (autonomous container ship trials) gets, from open data.

  • No Wikipedia article of its own yet
  • No recent press stories listed yet

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

No component details published yet.

Movement
Other movement
How it runs
Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.

Lineage

Every Mitsui O.S.K. Lines consortium with Imoto Lines vehicle in order.

  1. Mikage (autonomous container ship trials)Mikage (autonomous container ship trials)2022Pilot use
  2. Sunflower Shiretoko (MEGURI2040 ferry trial)Sunflower Shiretoko (MEGURI2040 ferry trial)2022Pilot use

Made, sold and where

No production or sales figures published yet.

Price
Not publishedService vessel, not sold
How to get one
No official buying page found

Sources

Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.

The Nippon Foundation Third and fourth MEGURI2040 demonstration tests: Mikage and Sunflower Shiretoko The Nippon Foundation MEGURI2040 Fully Autonomous Ship Program The Nippon Foundation MEGURI2040 Stage 2: Mikage

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