Transition towards autonomous shipping: The behavioural and technical skills of the navigational officer of the watch.

Abstract

The maritime industry is on the brink of one of the most influential technological breakthroughs of the 21st century, autonomous shipping. The benefits of autonomous shipping are clear, from environmental to economic, as the industry looks to capitalise on this revolutionary technology. However, in the event of autonomous system failure, the operator’s response in safety critical circumstances could result in catastrophic ramifications for the crew, vessel and environment. Therefore, to have robust and reliable autonomous shipping, this transition should not be instantaneous and will result in a prolonged adjustment period for the industry and crew, in particular the navigational officer of the watch. The research presented in this thesis utilises a mixed methods empirical approach, consisting of four independent studies. The preliminary work incorporates a survey study, using 100 participants, to establish the seafarers’ perspective towards autonomous shipping. The opinions gained from the survey then served as a foundational understanding and rationale to justify the subsequent studies. An interview-based study, was conducted which distinguished key themes from 16 maritime professionals, providing clearer understanding of the concerns that seafarers have regarding onboard decision making processes alongside the development of legislation and suggestions for future officer training. Furthermore, two simulator studies were carried out, using 50 and 60 participants respectively, which highlighted the demographic variables that impact performance and that seafarers experienced difficulties in recognising and diagnosing automation-based faults. The work conducted in this thesis has identified that, given the current education for seafarers, there is a lack of situational awareness when using highly sophisticated navigational systems. Moreover, this thesis has provided information towards the development and restructure of future officer curricula, in particular the recommended inclusion of a behavioural based training regime, which both the maritime industry and future researchers can use to harmonise the human automation relationship