Autonomous shipping is moving closer – step by step. “It will happen,” said Richard Clayton of Lloyd’s List, “but in what form and over what period of time is yet to be agreed.” Speaking during a recent webinar, he said the shortage of skills should not be regarded as the prime motivator for autonomous shipping – the most powerful need was to reduce harmful emissions. Digital technology was often regarded as a solution to the skills dilemma, he added. “Almost everyone thinks autonomous means unmanned and consequently that fewer seafarers will be required. “The reality is that fewer people want to go to sea – and in addition the level of skill of active seafarers is diminishing,” said Clayton. Autonomy has evolved as a way to harness digital technology to make the industry safer, cleaner and more efficient. “Over the past five years several other factors have come into play that can be seen as the building blocks – the launch of more satellites, for example, has improved communication between ship and shore so that remote monitoring centres on shore now work alongside bridge and engine teams as a coordinated management team. “When they work together they bring the industry to a position where it’s less about replacing seafaring jobs with machines and more about man and machine working hand in hand in a more efficient and sustainable way.” He believes 2018 will see a breakthrough as digitalisation moves from theory into practice. “Maersk has been working with IBM to explore the potential for using blockchain – to incorporate itself within the wider supply chain through encrypted transactions. It’s important because it sees port communities linking with vessel operators to work as a seamless enterprise from manufacturer to end user.” The evolution to autonomous shipping will however be a gradual one, moving from fully manned on-board to a combination of partly manned onboard and on shore, to small crews and small shore teams, to remotely operated vessels with minimal crew and ultimately no crew at all. “And each step presents regulatory and legal issues that the industry needs to get to grips with,” he said. “The first issue is cyber security – is it good enough to keep internal and external hackers at bay? What if a vessel is boarded by pirates? How will seafarers and shipbuilders react to the loss of jobs and who is responsible if a fire breaks out in a container or on an unmanned ship?” Another hurdle, he pointed out, was the psychological one. “We feel safer when there’s a bridge team and engine room team. We feel less safe if there’s no-one in charge.” The increased level of autonomy will mean fewer people will be needed and people will be trained to do very different jobs than today. “Unmanned ships will begin in simple confined areas and will then move to deep sea shipping and eventually to shipping in congested waters. “I expect a preference for minimal manning onboard ship and a greater degree of remote operations but without fully autonomous vessels,” he said.
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It’s less about replacing seafaring jobs with machines and more about man and machine working hand in hand. – Richard Clayton
