The potential of uncrewed and autonomous ships

Driven primarily by economic considerations, the maritime transportation industry has continuously evolved over the years. In recent times, economic consideration has shifted the focus of technology developers to experiment and refine automation onboard ships. However, since the maritime industry is a slow mover in adopting disruptive technologies due to inherent economic considerations, the acceptance and policy making for full utilisation of the benefits of automated technologies is limited. It thus becomes essential to understand and study the possible potential of uncrewed and autonomous ships in the maritime transportation sector which would eventually help provide the correct and required impetus to studies and development of technologies to support uncrewed and autonomous ships. Though numerous critical questions need to be addressed before either ‘uncrewed’ or ‘autonomous’ ships can be successfully and/ or economically utilised, the article aims to address the question of ‘the potential of uncrewed and autonomous ships’ as a start point to assist and motivate the growth of these platforms.