ABSTRACT
The integration of automation in maritime operations has revolutionised industry norms, introducing both new opportunities and challenges. Drawing on evidence from autonomous systems across other safety-critical industries, the combination of overreliance, lack of transparency in new technologies and limited knowledge of underlying decision-making processes can create an array of negative impacts for operators and thus affect overall safe and efficient operations. This chapter explores human factors in autonomous maritime operations and the cognitive demands placed on remote operators’ situation awareness. Moreover, it investigates key human-system integration challenges, including trust in automation, cognitive workload and the impact of cognitive biases on decision-making under uncertainty. Key theoretical frameworks, including situation awareness (SA), the cognitive resource-demand model and signal detection theory, are applied to analyse human-system integration. By examining the interplay between automation and human cognition, this chapter provides insights into optimising remote vessel operations. Using real-world examples and the Canadian autonomous surface vehicle case study as a focal point, this chapter advocates balancing automation with human oversight through SA-focused training, human-centred system design and AI transparency to ensure that technology complements human expertise.
