SmartTALK: What the crew thought about their vessel being remote controlled

Last year, 2017, US Offshore vessel operator and owner GulfMark and Wärtsilä, the Helsinki-listed engineering firm, demonstrated that a vessel in the North Sea could be remotely controlled from operators sat in the US, some 3,000 miles away.

Talking to Fathom World in the latest SmartTALK webinar, GulfMark General Manager Operations Stephen Lee said the tests were conducted off Aberdeen in quiet waters away from other vessels and any navigation risks.

The trials were initially on the dynamic positioning systems, and they showed that the lag between a joystick command in the office and the response from the vessel’s system was under a second. But what did the ship’s crew think of this? How did the ship’s crew respond to this new technology and operators being sat in an office, away from the ship and the sea.

Here’s Stephen Lee’s explanation from the SmartTALK webinar:

Craig Eason

Craig Eason is the owner and editorial director of Fathom.World. He has a background in the shipping industry having started his career as a cadet on oil tankers and gas carriers before becoming a navigating officer on a range of vessel types. A change in career, with ensuing university studies, and he has now gained 20 years experience in written and broadcast journalism. He now is in demand as a knowledgeable and competent editor and event host and moderator, both for in-house events and ones for the public.