For successful implementation of unmanned technologies on water transport, it is proposed to create a specialized test area where autonomus ships and technologies of autonomus navigation could be tested in real conditions. The paper considers the solution of the problem of placement and technical equipment of the test aquatory, provided that risks are minimized, including collision prevention and environmental damage. To select the location of this aquatory, the features of the inland waterways of the European part of the Russian Federation were analyzed and the requirements for this water area were formulated. As a result, two test sites were proposed that allow for all the necessary types of tests of autonomus ships. The paper synthesizes the main parameters, such as the availability of navigation and hydrographic information, electronic cartography, etc. As a result of the study, a site in lake Ladoga was selected. In order to complete the full cycle of necessary measures during the tests and ensure the safety of navigation in a given area, it was decided to design the test aquatory as a set of three maneuvering zones for an unmanned vessel: the safe free maneuvering zone during testing, the turning zone - area of restricted maneuverability on courses and speeds, as well as on the shift of the steering wheel, and the extra safety maneuvering area used to prevent navigation accidents in difficult navigation conditions. The proposed location and concept of the test aquatory fully meet all the requirements for such an innovative infrastructure at the international level.

The problems of year-round navigation in the water area of the Northern Sea Route are considered. The study results are obtained at the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping within the framework of the “Hydrographic support of the Northern Sea Route” scientific school in two main interrelated directions. The first direction is devoted to the study of the main natural - climatic and navigational - hydrographic factors affecting the navigation conditions. The second direction is focused on the collection and analysis of statistical information on the ships movement parameters and on the substantiation of the year-round navigation possibility in all waters of the Arctic Seas and Polar waters. The main trends of changes in the fleet structure, the conditions of ships navigation and the development of the shipping routes network in the Arctic seas over the past ten years are noted. Particular attention is paid to the studies results related to the development of the shipping routes network on the eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route and the prospects for year-round navigation of ships in the Laptev and East Siberian Seas.