Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) Ocean Engineering students have won the 2026 Njord Challenge, an international competition in Norway that tests autonomous surface vessels in real-world maritime conditions.
The victory by Team Aritra marks a significant achievement for IIT Madras’ growing programme in marine autonomous systems. It also builds on the Departments’ earlier success at the competition, where a different cohort of Team Aritra students finished third globally and won the Sustainability Award in 2023.
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, met the students of Team Aritra and congratulated them on their victorius performance. He also encouraged them to not stop here but to take forward their work and ensure their expertise benefits the country.
Autonomous surface vessels have potential applications in coastal and harbour surveillance, port and strategic infrastructure monitoring, environmental and oceanographic data collection, hydrographic surveys and other persistent maritime operations where reducing the need for continuous human presence can improve safety and operational efficiency.
Organised by NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), the Njord Challenge gives students hands-on experience in developing and deploying autonomous vessels under realistic maritime conditions. Held in Trondheim, Norway, from 10th to 14th August 2026, the competition brought together 23 teams filled with 150 participants from nine countries including India, Turkiye, Norway, Poland, Canada, Japan, Spain, Croatia and Scotland.
Dr. Abhilash Sharma Somayajula, Associate Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, mentored the team with Prof. M.A. Atmanand. Dr. Prabhakaran Jay and senior members of the Marine Autonomous Vessels (MAV) Laboratory, IIT Madras, also supported the students in development, testing and deployment.
Congratulating the students, Faculty Advisor Dr. Abhilash Sharma Somayajula, Associate Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “The success of Team Aritra is a testament to what students can achieve when they are given the freedom to explore, experiment and build. Our vision at the Marine Autonomous Vessels Laboratory is to help build the capabilities that India will need as marine autonomy becomes increasingly important. At the same time, we want the laboratory to be an environment where the next generation of marine roboticists can pursue their curiosity, express their creativity and learn by tackling real engineering problems. We hope that projects such as Team Aritra will excite more students to explore marine robotics and give them the confidence to pursue ideas that may not have obvious answers, but are worth exploring.”