What will the ship of 2050 look like?
Theo Baltatzis, General Manager, Technomar Shipping
Complicated and different. The human element will not be obsolete, but the crew will have different skills; electro-technical and electronic skills will be main issues. I don’t know if AI will be used a lot into the ship, however there are certain levels that will be tackled by AI, and certain tasks to be completed by that time.
Basil Sakellis, Managing Director, Alassia NewShips Management Inc
It is unimaginable to think what the ship will look like if it doesn’t run on a conventional engine. And I cannot imagine a fully autonomous ship where I sit in an office, press a button and control the ballast of the ship. Also, I think that we’re never going without having crew members onboard, even though we talk about all incidents and accidents that took place because of human error. There are always going to be human beings onboard ships which they are probably going to be running on ammonia or something else.
Dimitris Patrikios, CEO, Kyklades Maritime Corp.
I think the 2050 ship will be a floating object. How it will move, I don’t know. Definitely it will have people onboard, but with different kind of skills but I think fewer and more trained than today, with a lot of equipment and communication.
Georgios E. Poularas, CEO, ENESEL S.A.
As floating objects; the vessels will look from the principal dimension of the point of view as designed, not much different than today. However, with a lot of different automation and outfitting. Also, I believe that it is hard to eliminate the human element onboard vessels, not to forget that human and ships are together as a unified system for thousands of years and you cannot introduce something new without killing the old.
Kostas Vlachos, COO, Latsco Marine Management
By 2050, I think of fully autonomous vessels, meaning that their operating systems will be in position to take decisions and determine its actions.
Above views were presented during a panel discussion at the Hellenic American Maritime Forum, 29-30 May, 2019, Megaron Athens, Greece, organized by SAFETY4SEA and SHIPPINGInsight
It is very interesting to read the views of the panel all of whom have a very similar view of where shipping is going and how ships will be designed and operated. One very important point here is that change must start now. And the first change must be in how the STCW Convention must be amended to meet the changes and is able to be amended on an annual basis to meet the demands of the industry. In this way the seafarers will have the proper skills set to compete properly and man the ships in the most efficient and effective way. That is if there are crew members on board.
Technology may meet many demands and supply a great support matrix but we come back to the most important question of what s done when things go wrong and they will because no system is perfect. This is the time for industry leaders to come to the forefront and demand the changes that are needed from a total business perspective if it is to succeed.