The German joint project GALILEOnautic aims to develop systems for autonomous navigation and optimised manoeuvring of vessels cooperating in areas with high safety and efficiency requirements, such as harbours or narrow waterways. In the conception of this project, the SAE levels of the automotive industry were applied for classification of intended levels in automation of already being used manoeuvring vessels. It fairly soon became apparent that the conditions in development of new autonomous road vehicles and the appropriate infrastructure are significantly different in comparison to adaption of navigation and manoeuvring of watercrafts which are part of a complex transport network. Therefor and in relation to the few orientating guidelines addressing autonomous maritime applications, a specific concept for manoeuvring automation in high safety areas was developed. It defines the automation levels towards autonomous shipping considering the current practice and the technical equipment on such vessels, the legal framework for automatic shipping as well as the requirements for integrating automatic manoeuvring in the traditional shipping traffic. The contribution introduces this automation concept and the necessary infrastructure for each level. Additionally, the results of the first project phase are presented. It implies the essential sensor equipment and subsequent data fusion to describe completely the dynamic ship motion and to recognise the close surrounding of the vessel. A hybrid control scheme is applied including feedforward and feedback modules. The control approach is illustrated by interfered encounter situations in ship handling simulator and for unmanned surface vehicles. The paper gives a prospect on the future investigations for higher manoeuvre automation.