SIMIC

SEAFARERS perspective will be useful in the development of autonomous shipping, according to a study by organisations interested in maritime affairs, reports Bangalore's Marine Insight.

This was one conclusion of the maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) research from the Korean Maritime Institute (KMI), the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and the Korea Institute of Maritime and Fisheries Technology (KIMFT).



The report has been presented to the UN's International Maritime Organisation's (IMO), which has been studying the impact of MASS and the regulatory changes that may be needed.



Researchers interviewed 17 seafarers and seafarers' representatives, giving voice to their hopes and fears about increasing levels of automation in the merchant fleet.



"Developments in artificial intelligence are making the possibility of fully autonomous ships more real," said ITF seafarer section chairman David Heindel.



"These ships are already being tested, though most seafarers don't envisage them becoming a practical reality for many years. What we are likely to see is a gradual process where levels of automation steadily increase," he said.



"Far from considering this a threat to jobs, unions believe it is an opportunity to make shipping safer, with more skilled, better-quality work, putting the industry in a better place to tackle big issues like climate change," Mr Heindel said.



The report was recently presented to the 107th session of the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), which has been studying the impact of MASS and the regulatory and other changes that may be needed.



Said Korea Maritime Institute president Jong-Deog Kim: "This report will support the maritime mobility industry in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) with the necessary regulatory development for seafarers who will be affected."