BOURBON has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Automated Ships Ltd. to support the building of the world's first autonomous, fully-automated and cost-efficient prototype vessel for offshore operations, in collaboration with the project's primary technology partner, KONGSBERG. BOURBON will leverage its expertise in building and operating a standardized fleet to provide detailed input to the development and design of the Hrönn project, ensuring flexibility, reliability and cost efficiency to operate safely and effectively in the demanding offshore environment. Based on its customer experience, BOURBON will thus help to match client demand. In the second phase of the project, BOURBON and ASL will join forces to search the subsidies to finance the effective construction of the prototype. Hrönn is a light-duty, offshore utility ship servicing the offshore energy, hydrographic & scientific and offshore fish-farming industries. It can also be utilized as a ROV and AUV support ship and standby vessel, able to provide firefighting support to an offshore platform working in cooperation with manned vessels. Automated Ships Ltd. has progressed the original catamaran design of Hrönn since the project launch on 1 November 2016, opting for a monohulled vessel of steel construction, to provide more payload capacity and greater flexibility in the diverse range of operations.