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Why seafarers have little confidence in autonomous ships
There are 12 specific reasons why trust in the technology is low, a new study shows.
A number of autonomous ferries will be deployed on Norwegian routes. The first ones arrive as early as this autumn.
They are intended to operate with as little human intervention as possible. At the same time, captains and mates on Norwegian ships are concerned about the technical safety of such vessels.
“Seafarers feel strongly that people should continue to work on board, maintaining oversight and control, so that unforeseen events can be managed properly,” says researcher Asbjørn Lein Aalberg.
He studies seafarers’ trust in autonomous vessels at NTNU’s Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management.
Crews are becoming lazy, says captain
In a new study, he and Professor Trond Kongsvik identified 12 challenges related to the safety of autonomous ships.
The study is based on open-ended responses from a total of 1,009 captains and mates on Norwegian ships.
This makes the study the largest of its kind in the world. It covers everything from handling emergencies to concerns about seafarers’ competence and awareness:
“In waves of over four metres, I do not want to encounter an autonomous ship that does not use the ‘bad weather route’ like we do,” says one.
“Crews are becoming lazy because they expect an alarm for absolutely everything,” says another.
If their concerns are taken seriously, it may be safer to let computers take over more tasks on board, the researchers believe.
These are the 12 challenges
The goal of the research is safer use of advanced technology and to increase seafarers’ trust in autonomous vessels.
To achieve this, authorities, researchers, tech developers, ship designers, and shipping companies must actively address the challenges highlighted by the seafarers, Aalberg believes.
Most of the thousand responses were constructive.
Some concerns may perhaps be addressed through clearer communication and by letting seafarers test out the systems. Other issues require more development and research.
12 reasons why seafarers are concerned about autonomous ships
| CONCERNS AND NEEDS: | SELECTED COMMENTARY FROM SEAFARERS: |
| 1. The overall need for reliability and human control of automation | "Automation is fallible and must be monitored and supervised by humans." "Automation must be monitored by people who can intervene when it fails." |
| 2. Concerns about possible consequences for important tasks | "Who will do all the maintenance and keep all the equipment in working order?" "Who will evacuate passengers?" |
| 3.Concern about the reliability of automation | "Whatever technology is introduced must be virtually flawless." "The reliability of these systems are the most important aspect and must be tests." |
| 4.Need for human override and control | «fokuset på operatører og muligheten til å ta manuell kontroll om nødvendig» «det er for mange upålitelige sensorer i dagens system. Umulig uten tilsyn» |
| 5. Need for continued human presence | "The human factor is always involved." "Completely unforeseen events cannot be replaced by a matrix." |
| 6.Concern for seafarers' competence and awareness | "As things become automated, personnel will be much less engaged and know less – such as about navigation." "Crews become less engaged and alert because they expect the system to alert them about absolutely everything." |
| 7. Concern about how emergencies and crises will be handled | "We already have too little staffing to handle a crisis situation." "How will the ship handle a total power outage?" |
| 8. The need for backup and redundant systems | "Adequate backup systems and reactions when something goes wrong – for example, several individual systems that do the same thing and check with each other if they agree” “The fact that there are backup systems that take over if an error is triggered on the main system” |
| 9. Need for enough crew on board | "Do not reduce staffing" "Should not be used as an excuse to reduce safety staffing" |
| 10. Need for user-friendly systems and training for operators | "Systems should be easy to use and easy to fix, or be easy to operate manually" "The systems must be considerably better than they are today for this to work. As of today, almost all systems depending on interaction with humans to function optimally." |
| 11. Need for a controlled implementation process | "These ships must be piloted over a long period with personnel on board." "This must be implemented gradually and in a controlled manner." "Safety MUST be assessed by competent external parties with a critical view of the companies' proposals" |
| 12. Need for capability under different external conditions | "When waves are more than 4 metres high, I don't want to encounter an autonomous ship that doesn't use the 'bad weather route' like we do" "Supervision of ships that are sailing, capacity on the ocean and handling of other traffic" |
Difficult to recruit seafarers
Captains and mates have command on board ships. From the bridge, they must maintain oversight, control, and the ability to handle situations as they arise.
The maritime industry is currently struggling with recruitment. At the same time, many are investing in automation. Today’s seafarers have little confidence that this will be safe.
The industry must understand why they are sceptical if it wants to get them on board, believes Aalberg.
“Trust is the key to collaboration between people and systems. If most seafarers are sceptical about the new technology, it provides a poor foundation for recruiting competent personnel,” he says.
Seafarers and doctors in the same boat
Society will need seafarers for the foreseeable future, but their roles are changing.
To achieve safe and effective solutions, seafarers must be involved. In pilot and testing phases, for example, they are best suited to assess how things work, the researcher believes.
Aalberg sees similarities with the field of medicine. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly accurate at assessing X-rays, for example.
Nevertheless, medical experts tend to believe that they are better at evaluating the overall picture and especially complex cases. Just like ship mates, they find it difficult to fully trust the technology.
At the same time, research shows that the results are often even better when people work in interaction with these systems, Aalberg points out.
Fear of losing skills
Many of the responses relate to concerns about the technology. But the researcher was surprised that many seafarers are most concerned about losing their own skills. That they might become mentally ‘lazy’ from ‘just sitting there’ and become overly reliant on the technology.
Aalberg compares it to how we have become accustomed to driving cars with GPS and automatic gears. That means it won’t be easy to suddenly have to navigate with a map and shift gears manually.
If a ferry is to operate autonomously all the time, the captain loses hands-on experience. Everything from handling critical situations to manoeuvring in bad weather, the researcher explains.
“For example, when a ferry with hundreds of passengers has to be evacuated quickly. We have to investigate and find solutions to these things. The best way to achieve this is by listening to what the professionals think," he says.
Minimal human intervention
Aalberg says it now appears that parts of the industry are pushing hard for technology to fix everything.
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration, for example, set requirements for the new autonomous ferries that will operate the Lavik–Oppedal crossing. From autumn 2026, they are to operate with minimal human intervention.
The fact that seafarers’ expertise doesn’t carry the same amount of weight may help explain some of their scepticism, Aalberg believes.
Must focus on building trust
Aalberg says that many academic communities are concerned about this, such as NTNU’s Shore Control Lab.
Research there focuses on creating solutions where humans are at the centre of the systems, and not just a spare part that shouldn’t intervene.
He hopes that authorities, shipping companies, and designers in the maritime industry can use his research results to tackle these challenges.
“It's important that the development takes place in a way that builds trust among seafarers, passengers, and other users,” emphasises Asbjørn Lein Aalberg.
Reference:
Aalberg, A.L. & Kongsvik, T. How can maritime automation and autonomy be safely implemented? A mixed-method topic model, WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs, 2026. DOI: 10.1007/s13437-025-00401-9
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Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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