Report: Technology in Maritime: Dehumanising the Industry or Creating New Job Opportunities?

While the autonomous ship has grabbed the headlines and been much talked about most in the industry agree that the human workforce is not about be replaced on a large scale any time soon. Indeed while some tasks currently done by people may be replaced by automation there will also be many new opportunities.

However, with a wide variety of new technologies being adopted from digital navigation to remote surveys by drone and blockchain for transactions the skills required of the future maritime workforce of tomorrow could be vastly different from today.

This leads to the question of how shipping and maritime positions itself to ensure the industry’s workers have the right skills for the future. The industry also needs to attract new, young talent will skills in areas such as digitalisation, competing with a host of other sectors.

This report explores how technology has changed the course of maritime over the last few years and the impact that it has had on the current maritime workforce.

It questions if technology will make traditional jobs in the maritime industry redundant, and emphasises the need for the industry, especially that of Singapore as a prominent maritime hub, to futureproof the workforce in a bid to remain competitive.

Acknowledgements and Contributions

The development of this multi-part industry insights report would not have been possible without the insights and contributions provided by these maritime industry’s thought leaders.

These industry leaders gave their time to be interviewed for this report, providing their invaluable insights and opinions on the challenges and opportunities facing maritime as the industry moves to embrace technology.