ABSTRACT
Maritime autonomous surface ships (MASSs) will be a disruptive technological approach to traditional shipping that can also contribute economic and environmental benefits. They can additionally provide greater freedom to operate in harsh weather and environmental conditions, such as the Arctic region, where manned ships face higher risks due to safety considerations arising from cold and ice conditions. Autonomous ship technology can be a solution, but it can also introduce multiple challenges in terms of ensuring safe operational conditions at sea. The advanced AI-based intelligent systems can enhance the safety level, which also supports remote navigation of future MASSs through remote operation centers (ROCs). The ROCs can shift onboard monitoring and controlling functions to onshore, where human operators can navigate vessels just like onboard operators in the ship bridge. However, the ROC operators must train through maritime training centers to utilise advanced monitoring and control systems of ROCs, which are heavily dependent on modern technology. There is a lack of required knowledge and competence in maritime training and educational institutes to prepare ROC operators for future ship operations. To train the ROC operators, significant modifications are required in existing training centres, that is, to transfer the conventional teaching and research infrastructure to an ROC operations perspective. The current study considered such challenges and proposed six major competency modules necessary for ROC operator training. The present study also identifies the required modifications in teaching and research infrastructure for the remotely operated MASSs through the ROCs.
