Abstract
With the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, a new normal shipping approach is expected to be introduced, aiming to complete operations both on land and on board without interruption, in order to ensure the sustainability of maritime transport. In the near future, it is thought that “remote working” will take place permanently in the maritime sector as well as in all other sectors. On the other hand, it does not seem possible for the personnel carrying out ship and port operations with the technologies in today's traditional ships to work remotely. Recently, a growing research trend has been observed in the literature investigating various aspects of autonomous ships (AS). Early research has shown that AS can create potential improvements for cheaper and safer transportation by reducing the impact of the human factor. The aim of this chapter is to address the cohesion of two popular topics of the maritime industry: (1) the contactless working concept triggered by the coronavirus outbreak and (2) the autonomous shipping offering remote control.
TopWhat Is Autonomous Shipping?
“Autonomous” can be defined as the automatic self-management of a unit. This unit can be a machine, a vehicle or a system. “Autonomous shipping” is a set of technological systems that allows maritime transport to be done with ships that can sense their environment and move without human intervention. It is expected that autonomous systems integrated into ships will enable unmanned maritime transportation. The transition from existing shipping systems to autonomy brings three fundamental barriers and problems which are (1) technological, (2) regulatory, and (3) operational challenges (Karlis, 2018; Komianos, 2018; Kretschmann, Burmeister, & Jahn, 2017).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Human Error: It is human behavior that causes the intended result not to be achieved.
Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships: These are the sea vehicles that can be self-managed or that can be managed remotely from control center.
New Normal: It covers the stages of life returning to normal after the covid-19 virus.
Shore Control Center: A facility that performs monitoring, control tasks for autonomous ships and can intervene in autonomous ship operation in unexpected events.
Autonomous Shipping: It is the maritime transportation with autonomous ships.
Unmanned Vessel: It can be defined as sea vehicles that can navigate autonomously on sea, under the remote control of the operator on shore or on another ship, or through the systems on it, in order to perform the defined activities.
Human Factor: It is a discipline that considers human interaction with the rest of the system such as the environment, facility, equipment.
Remote Working: It is a working method that allows employees to work outside the office.