What is Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships

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.