Seafarers’ Challenges in the Transition Period to Autonomous Shipping: Shipping Industry’s Perspective

Industry 4.0 implementation in the shipping industry has accelerated the speed of transformation to a new digital and intelligent environment onboard ship and onshore. Digitalization, as the main driver of automation in the shipping industry, will increase safety, security, efficiency, sustainability, and adaptability. Digitalization in shipping embraces technologies such as cyber-physical systems (CPS), the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and simulation. These and other emerging technologies are paving the way for the utilization of automation and smart systems onboard ships and onshore, thus becoming a necessary prerequisite for the development of autonomous ships. Although the future of autonomous ships promises many opportunities for the shipping industry, it will bring many challenges. One of the major challenges will be the changes in seafarers’ roles, responsibilities, and learning processes. Moreover, during the transition period to full autonomous ships, the deployment of digitalization and automation will gradually transfer some parts of seafarers’ work to intelligent machines, forever changing the seafaring role and career. In some cases, however, there is a perception among seafarers that autonomous shipping will result in the eventual demise of their positions on board and their career. This research is part of a larger qualitative study on seafarers' training needs and challenges due to the emergence of autonomous ship operations. The paper presents the viewpoints of the shipping companies’ experts about the effect of autonomous shipping on seafarers, their role and activities, and future careers. The thematic analysis of data identifies the vital role of IMO in response to seafarers’ challenges during the transition period and the importance of collaboration among shipping companies, regulatory bodies, and training providers. It also highlights an immediate need for developing strategies by IMO that identify the changing nature of seafaring both during the transition to autonomous shipping and beyond.