Crew Training for a Future that Includes Autonomous Vessels

摘要

As we continue to contemplate a future with ships transitioning to automated and autono- mous operations, the need for new and inno-vated crew training will only increase. Our current and future ship crews will need to straddle both new and existing vessel operation technology. This will present challenges, but ones that the industry can address in a proactive manner. Traditionally, maritime skills have changed slowly and new technology was assimilated on the fly in many cases. The Merchant Marine was a place where you learned on the job. From entry-level positions to cadet shipping, the very rank structure of a ship was predicated on accruing knowledge and experience. We have already begun to see that fabric change with the reduction of crew sizes and the elimination of most all entry-level positions. We are now at the stage where we need to do a better job of preparing crews to perform their assigned tasks before they ever step foot onboard. The approaching landscape of automated vessel operations will only make foundational and continuing training of crews more critical. Vessel operators need to do a better job and new technology and training methods need to be utilized.