Smart shipping
15
Respondents’ top 3 barriers to smart shipping
When do you think it is likely for the industry to be able to introduce smart shipping?
Shifting skillsets
How prepared is the industry?
The overall impact of smart shipping isn’t expected to affect the size of crew and technical support teams, however it will affect the skills and competencies needed in the occupation. Most were broadly optimistic about the benefits of the technology as a tool to support crew and improve vessel and fleet performance. Successfully shifting to data driven operation requires a complete change in mindset from the boardroom, through shore based support teams, to the crew at sea. engineering roles, while knowledge of electrical, electronic and/or software systems will grow in importance. Crew will take a more supervisory role, while superintendents may have an increased workload and/or have to accept greater responsibility, particularly in the initial stages of roll out. Many foresee a de-emphasis on traditional hands on mechanical
We may see a shift in power from those on board ships to shore based roles as it becomes unrealistic to expect a small crew ship to possess intimate knowledge across multiple technologies. Some worry that this elevated level of co-operation between ship and shore may have an adverse effect on vessel self sufficiency, particularly if lines of communication are lost, and that this could pose a new risk. As found with unmanned ships there was a view that smart shipping solutions may lead to an erosion of competency: a reliance on computing to control ships may reduce crew’s understanding of how and why a ship is operating under certain digital instructions.
Many respondents are taking a “wait and see” approach, preferring to let other players take the initiative. Improving margins is a strong driver in the adoption of smart shipping and not surprisingly it was evidenced that a key challenge for any shipowner considering data centric operation is to measure a baseline level of performance against which the output from any newly introduced system can be assessed and evaluated. Those taking a more proactive stance are increasing training in information and communications technology (ICT) for staff working at sea and on shore, thus paving the way for a gradual transition to a more data centric mode of operation. Others are still conducting preliminary research into the available solutions and doing trials, with a view to exploiting the benefits
of data gathering and analysis in the near future; and/or are specifying equipment that can allow data to be ‘switched on’ at a later date, thus future proofing their operations. Some queried whether the satellite communication (satcom) services currently available to the shipping industry offer the necessary capacity to really maximise the potential of data centric vessel operation, or sufficient resilience for its use in mission-critical applications. It should be noted that most smart shipping solutions available today do not take always on high capacity connectivity for granted and can function independently. However, resilience and failure modes will grow in importance as systems become more sophisticated and dependent on the availability of a network connection.
Infrastructure requirements – 26% Cyber threats – 14% Interface with new/existing regulations – 12%
Less than 5 years
10 - 15 years
15 - 25 years
25+ years
75 % 75% believe smart shipping will impact their business
17%
48%
25%
12%
3D printing & advanced materials
Commercial ship operators may benefit from the emergence of cost-effective and reliable 3D printing. It would reduce the inventory of spare parts stored on board and could be particularly helpful in the case of difficult to obtain components for older or obsolete machinery. However, it is predicated on the availability of datafiles for these components. There could be potential warranty or liability issues if equipment is repaired using 3D-printed parts not endorsed by the original manufacturer.
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