If you have ever seen a ship crossing your path and hailed them on the VHF to let them know you are there, perhaps to inform them you will alter course to avoid collision, that may be a thing of the past in the not too distant future. Autonomous ships are on the horizon.
Wired magazine has an interesting article about a Dutch company pushing hard to remove human error from shipping by removing the humans, although I question the motivation.
Wegener runs through a list of pros of self-driving ships. He says autonomous ships will be much safer than their human-captained counterparts, citing an Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty report which found that 75 per cent of maritime accidents are currently due to human error. And they would reduce port congestion by eliminating lengthy processes that require humans, such as local pilots who guide container ships into busy harbours. “That’s the official version. The unofficial reason we started doing this is because we thought it would be cool, of course,” he adds.
www.wired.co.uk
Interestingly (or ironically), the Allianz report referenced for the human error rate for maritime accidents also mentions an over reliance on technology as contributing to accidents.
Technology is driving safety improvements but over-
reliance is a concern: Safety-enhancing technology is
already finding its way into shipping. This could bring huge
benefits, as it is estimated that 75% to 96% of marine
accidents can be attributed to human erroriv. Information
from voyage data recorders is already used in accident
investigation but important safety lessons could also be
learned by analyzing information from everyday
operations. Conversely, a number of incidents have
occurred where crews have relied too much on technology,
particularly involving electronic navigation tools.
Wired magazine has an interesting article about a Dutch company pushing hard to remove human error from shipping by removing the humans, although I question the motivation.
Wegener runs through a list of pros of self-driving ships. He says autonomous ships will be much safer than their human-captained counterparts, citing an Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty report which found that 75 per cent of maritime accidents are currently due to human error. And they would reduce port congestion by eliminating lengthy processes that require humans, such as local pilots who guide container ships into busy harbours. “That’s the official version. The unofficial reason we started doing this is because we thought it would be cool, of course,” he adds.
Rotterdam is building the most automated port in the world
Rotterdam is betting big on self-driving ships, smart containers and autonomous cranes. Everyone's happy, apart from dockers
Interestingly (or ironically), the Allianz report referenced for the human error rate for maritime accidents also mentions an over reliance on technology as contributing to accidents.
Technology is driving safety improvements but over-
reliance is a concern: Safety-enhancing technology is
already finding its way into shipping. This could bring huge
benefits, as it is estimated that 75% to 96% of marine
accidents can be attributed to human erroriv. Information
from voyage data recorders is already used in accident
investigation but important safety lessons could also be
learned by analyzing information from everyday
operations. Conversely, a number of incidents have
occurred where crews have relied too much on technology,
particularly involving electronic navigation tools.
