There is no doubt in the industry that smart shipping will be the future of maritime operations and as the industry steams into what is being called the ‘smart’ or ‘digital’ era, the sector is awash with forward-thinking technologies, solutions and concepts.
This article was originally published in Ship Efficiency Review magazine in October 2016. To view the article and to access the data, please click here.
This coupled with the extraordinary advances in satellite communications during the past decade mean that a myriad of new solutions has opened up to the industry. However, a ‘solution’ is only a solution if it actually solves a problem, if it actually improves a process and if it actually makes the operating chain more effective. Therefore, Ship Efficiency Review, in partnership with the maritime technology company Transas, decided to find out what the industry actually needs, and what it wants. The Future of Ship Operations Global Survey*, carried out earlier this year, ascertained what stakeholders in the maritime industry believe would actually aid improved safety, enhanced operational management and enriched collaboration. Importantly they survey’s mission was to uncover the perceived challenges to the adoption of smart shipping and examine how operational responsibility might be distributed between the ship and the shore.
Automation, not Administration
When examining the survey results, it is clear that paperwork for crews is one of the dominating issues that needs to be addressed. The industry needs electronic recording of information and automated reporting to become the norm. Whilst this might seem simple, it would require changes in legislation in some instances. Regulatory reporting is felt to be the single most important requirement that, if automated, would reduce the administrative burden on the crews. With this move to greater automation, it is important that crews have the ICT skills required and training support.
Smart Data Use, Not More Data Creation
A ship today already hosts an array of sensors and data collection methods. Only a fraction of the data available is ever used. Therefore, rather than create more data, it is important to consider what is already in place on the vessel and see if it could be used more effectively.
One key could be that data is shared in real-time so that the shore as well as the ship can view it together and at all times. There appeared to be an appetite for this with both improved safety and operational efficiency and cost management benefits felt to be apparent
Share and Support, Not Replace
Survey respondents overwhelmingly expressed that it would be helpful to have shared operational responsibility between ship and shore with the majority believing this should be at all times. Although there was then a disconnect in whether the crew would accept this with the majority believe they would only accept shore based operational decisions in certain circumstances.
This would suggest that whilst the shore might be placed to support and input, respondents held the opinion that control should remain with the vessel itself. The era of autonomous vessels is certainly not imminently upon us, therefore it is important in the meantime to support and empower crews to have better safety and operational outcomes rather than take over control and decision making.
What Is the Future?
The survey exposed the fact that technological capability is not the barrier to moving forward. In fact, it is attitudes and regulation that are regarded as being the bigger stumbling blocks. Therefore, in order for smart shipping to be a reality, industry will have to take some responsibility for driving the change and developing new attitudes. The benefits of greater automation in shipping are understood but the survey results suggested that accepting this change might be more challenging for our conservative industry. It could also be beneficial if there was more engagement in the politics of shipping, particularly as regulation is seen as being one of the barriers to a shared operational scenario.
Regulation is usually viewed as a downward pressure beyond the control of industry itself, however upward pressure can be applied to push for regulatory change to make a safer, more streamlined and automated industry. Regulation needs to allow for the increased automation of safety, environmental and regulatory reporting requirements with Port State Control part of the solution accepting methods of compliance that do not require manual or paper based records. In order to create a viable industry for the future it is clear that the industry must proactively embrace necessary change and solve problems together. There needs to be collaboration and a willingness to change and shipping will have a smart integrated future.
*Results of an independent global survey carried out by Fathom Maritime Intelligence on the internet from 13/7/2016-04/08/2016. There were 101 respondents to who completed the full survey and whose results are shown. Of these 55% were ship owner, operators or charterers. The remaining 45% were made up of regulators, government, training schools, class societies, technology suppliers and other maritime industry stakeholders.
For the full results of the survey please visit www.transas.com/Media/Default/about/Transas_THESIS_In_Depth.pdf
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To contact the reporter responsible for this article, please email editor@fathom-mi.com
