The week’s most important developments in shipping, ports & yachting — distilled into a 5-minute read.

🔗 Quick Links

• ⛵ AI foil-trim keeps SailGP F50s rock-steady at 50 kt — SailGP

  Real-time ML flattens flight path using 30 000 sensor points / s.

• 👁️‍🗨️ Sea.AI computer-vision lookout gains MCA nod — Yachting Magazine

  First AI watchkeeper credited toward large-yacht manning.

• 🌬️ Union Maritime launches rotor-sail tanker — MarineLink

  Norsepower tech expected to cut fuel 10 % per ship.

• 🛰️ Singapore debuts live Maritime Digital Twin — SAFETY4SEA

  Real-time port model showcased at SMW 2025.

• 🤖 Yara Birkeland marks 3 years & wins autonomy sign-off — Offshore Energy

  Zero-crew feeder cleared for regular ops on Oslo-Borg corridor.

• 🏛️ IMO schedules Oct 2025 vote on GHG levy — IMO

  Extraordinary MEPC set for 20 Oct to adopt mid-term measures.

🚀 Big Moves This Week

1. SailGP's AI flight controller hits 50 kt with zero vent-offs

Oracle's neural-network "Flight Controller" now tweaks foil angle 120× / s, keeping F50s stable at 50 kt in 27 kt gusts.
Teams report +6 % VMG and fewer crash-downs; SailGP will open-source the dataset for smaller foiling classes, fast-tracking AI to ocean–racing fleets. [SailGP]

2. Sea.AI vision watchkeeper wins flag-state green light

UK MCA now lets large yachts credit Sea.AI's CV lookout as a bridge assistant, trimming night-watch rosters from 3 to 2 crew.
Trials logged 96 % small-craft detection at 1 NM in quartering seas; underwriters are drafting premium rebates for compliant installs. [Yachting Magazine]

3. Rotor sails scale up: Union Maritime's first wind-assist tanker

The UK owner christened Buran, first of 34 ships to fit Norsepower rotors—targeting a 10 % fuel cut and ≈ 940 t CO₂ saved / yr.
Solent University will run simulation-driven training so deck officers can plan "sail-seeking" routes. [MarineLink]

4. Singapore unveils real-time port digital twin

MPA & GovTech rolled out a twin ingesting AIS, lidar and hydro data to model berth moves live.
Early demos show tug dispatch cut 12 % and inspection downtime halved. [SAFETY4SEA]

5. Yara Birkeland cleared for zero-crew commercial service

Norway's all-electric feeder secured its autonomy sign-off after 7 000 h of supervised trials, becoming the world's first regular zero-crew box vessel.
The permit paves the way for an Oslo–Borg "green corridor" of fully autonomous feeders by 2027. [Offshore Energy]

6. IMO sets 20 Oct session to hammer out CO₂ levy

Member states agreed to an extraordinary MEPC to finalise market-based measures; diplomats tip a $200 / t CO₂-eq starting price.
Anticipation of the levy is already driving a spike in wind-assist and AI route-optimiser RFQs. [IMO]

📊 Why It Matters

🔭 On Our Radar

• ⛵ 14–16 Jun — Monaco Energy Boat Challenge: first hydrogen foiler with AI stabiliser enters race.
• 🛰️ ESA’s VDES-sat constellation demo goes live in July.
• 🏛️ 18–27 Jun — MSC 110: remote-operator licensing fight likely to go to the wire.

📅 Top Monthly Picks

1. 🛰️ Orca AI clinches $72.5 M Series B — SpaceDaily (16 May 25)
2. 🚤 Saildrone raises $60 M for security USVs — The Defense Post (23 May 25)
3. ⛵ SailGP AI foil-controller reaches 50 kt — SailGP (28 May 25)
4. 🌬️ Rotor sails log 1 Mt CO₂ saved — MarineLink (28 May 25)
5. 🌊 Mediterranean SOx ECA goes live — IMO (1 May 25)