Identifying seafarer training needs for operating future autonomous ships: a systematic literature review

ABSTRACT

Autonomous ships are expected to become operational in the foreseeable future. However, so far, most of the discussions have been centred on automation technology with less emphasis on training of seafarers who shall operate them. Depending on the level of autonomy, it is imperative that these ships will still be operated by humans either onshore or onboard. Thus, it is critical to identify the training needs of operators and the facilities that will be required to deliver them. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on maritime education and training (MET) of future operators of autonomous and unmanned ships. An extensive review of the literature revealed that currently, there is an absence of a framework for training the future operators of autonomous vessels. Moreover, the exact equipment that will be needed for training is also not known. As the literature on operational requirement of autonomous ships is limited, this paper expanded the review of the literature to industries which have already embraced the autonomous systems and in particular the framework utilised for training the workforce that operates and manage those autonomous systems.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The materials and data in this publication have been obtained through the support of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU) and The Nippon Foundation in Japan.

Notes on contributors

Gholam Reza Emad

Gholam Reza Emad is a senior lecturer in Maritime Training at the Australian Maritime College. His research focuses on knowing and learning in maritime domain and how it can be theorised. He also studies the cognitive human element integration in maritime industry at sea and in ports.

Hossein Enshaei

Hossein Enshaei is a senior lecturer at the Australian Maritime College, an institute of University of Tasmania. His interest is in the field of marine technologies. His research focuses on dynamic modelling of ship’s motion to investigate the extreme roll characteristics; numerical modelling of marine engineering systems through simulation and control system design; and technological and operational issues of Ballast Water treatment systems.

Samrat Ghosh

Samrat Ghosh is a lecturer and course coordinator in Maritime Training at the Australian Maritime College. His research focuses on investigating the impact of innovative training and assessment methods in seafarer education to improve students’ academic achievement; and identifying training needs for future ship (autonomous) operators.