With the positive funding decision for CAPTN Förde Areal III, we will -- together with our partners -- take another next step toward real-world autonomous maritime mobility. The project advances the development and testing of highly automated and autonomous functions on the research catamaran MS Wavelab under real operating conditions, with a focus on AI-supported perception, navigation, communication, decision-making, safety, and future approval processes. By moving from research infrastructure and test-field operation toward practical application scenarios, CAPTN strengthens Kiel’s role as a leading European testbed for climate-friendly, connected, and autonomous public transport on water. It was a honor and pleasure to meet the German Federal Minister of Transport, Mr. Patrick Schnieder, and the Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Labour, Technology, and Tourism of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, Mr. Claus Ruhe Madsen, during the event. This project is conducted at CAU Kiel.
