In recent years, the shipping industry has increasingly turned to automation to improve operational and economic efficiency, safety, and sustainability. However, the high complexity and safety requirements of automated technical systems present challenges in system design and testing, resulting in time-consuming processes and higher costs when testing with real systems. Therefore, an alternative testing environment is needed to implement automation functions within the shipping industry in a cost-effective manner. The joint project “Data bases, infrastructures and technologies for virtual testing of automation functions – VERA” aims to implement a virtual test field for the development and evaluation of automation functionalities as well as simulation of traffic scenarios in the inland waterway transport sector. This paper discusses the features of the virtual test field as well as the modular system architecture. Key modules of the virtual test field include a physically accurate motion model for inland vessels, a traffic module that generates waterway traffic based on AIS data, and a scenario management system that handles simulation parameter variation and scenario settings.