Viewpoint: The importance of automation for safety

During MSC 105 last April, The International Maritime Organization (IMO) provided a roadmap for developing the MASS Code – anticipating a global regulatory framework on the operation of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS).

With the increasing adoption of digital technologies for all vessel types, including offshore and ferries, we will see further collaboration across shipping as the technology and regulation mature.

Driven by new decarbonisation regulation affecting all vessel types, owners and operators will realise the benefits of connectivity, SaaS, optimisation and the onboard digitalisation of previously “mundane” tasks, such as watchkeeping.

They will also gain actionable insights from data at a faster pace. Automated situational awareness platforms like Israel-based Orca AI’s, which are based on machine learning and AI algorithms, can provide recommendations and alerts for safer and more efficient navigation, by processing data from multiple sources in a fraction of the time taken by human operators.

These technologies support and empower crews to make better decisions and to avoid mistakes that can result in loss of lives. This is particularly important for managing safety risks on offshore vessels and ferries that carry many people and operate in highly confined waters. AI algorithms can monitor the surroundings outside a vessel with the same level of awareness as experienced human operators.

In darkness

One example demonstrating this is enhanced situational awareness in night-time conditions using high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging devices, or navigating increasingly congested waterways by having an automated look-out on the bridge that doesn’t sleep or miss risks. Constant risk prioritisation and simple user-interfaces, based on machine learning algorithms that improve over time, underline that this technology is both reliable and safe in all conditions.

People are subject to external forces that can be beyond human control. Automation reduces workload, adds flexibility and empowers crews, creating the vital resilience that the maritime, offshore and tourism industries, plus the global supply chain, all need to operate safely and efficiently. The adoption of these technologies will take a few years, but we’re already seeing a huge interest in automated shipping systems, which will alleviate congested waters and make them safer.

 The race is on and the next few years will dictate who can transform the industry into an automated, efficient one.