Perceptions of technology at sea amongst British seafaring officers

Abstract

The use of Information Communication Technology is growing in the maritime industry as more systems become monitored remotely and new technologies are introduced to aid environmental awareness and increase safety. An exploratory survey was conducted as part of the EU project ‘FLAGSHIP’ to assess how seafarers perceive the current state of technology onboard ship and to identify areas of resistance to advancements in this area. Only 5.8% of the sample of British officers (overall n = 805) reported feeling resistant to new technology either ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a great deal’ at a general level compared to 82.8% when asked about the specific issue of training. Logistic regression analysis revealed older seafarers and those with low computer literacy to show greater resistance to new technology. Resistance was also higher on vessels with smaller crews, although a confound with vessel type is likely. Technology training for seafarers should be improved but not as a means of compensating for equipment developed without reference to user-centred design principles. Around 90% of all goods are transported by ship yet ergonomic research into the onboard environment is extremely limited. New technology is being introduced to substitute for the human element but little has been done to investigate how work processes have adapted. Seafarers' perceptions of new technology are examined here.

Keywords:

• technology
• seafaring
• training
• user-centred design
• ships

Acknowledgements

The results presented in this paper were produced in the EU research project ‘FLAGSHIP’ and received research funding from the European Community's Sixth Framework Programme (the Sustainable Surface Transport initiative). Data collection was supported by Nautilus UK. The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of Andrew Smith, Emma Wadsworth, FLAGSHIP partners and all the seafarers who participated. The views expressed in the paper are those of the author and should not be taken to reflect the official position of the sponsors. The European Commission is not liable for any use that is made of the information contained within.