Future of Maritime Autonomy: Cybersecurity, Trust and Mariner’s Situational Awareness

Abstract

As technology evolves, the level of automation in the maritime industry grows, and will continue to grow significantly, as the industry strives for fully autonomous vessels. Current maritime operations on board rely on a mixture of automated processes, human decision making, and human interventions. In the future autonomy may lead to the removal of the mariner physically on board, increasing remotely operated vessels. The remote nature of these operations will subject mariners to new operational risks, such as a potential reduction in Situational Awareness (SA) and/or cyber threats. This article will discuss the importance of SA in maritime operations, and the potential challenges facing this when engaging in remote operations. Secondly, this article will discuss the training that mariners may need to navigate within such a remote operational landscape. Lastly, it is fundamental to understand how mariners currently manage higher risk operations (e.g. heavy traffic and port arrival/departure), and how this will change with the introduction of remote operations.

Quantifying the econometric loss of a cyber-physical attack on a seaport

“…This could be of interest to evaluate if the level of training the crew receives is adequate when considering cyber-physical threats. Other studies on crew perception of cyber-risk can be found in Larsen and Lund (2021b) and Misas et al (2022).…”

Challenges for the Education and Training of Seafarers in the Context of Autonomous Shipping: Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Literature Review

“…Misas et al's survey [97] identifies five key challenges for the future of maritime autonomy, including low cyber awareness in the industry, leading to potential over-reliance on digital tools, the need for regulatory adaptation to the evolving cyber threat landscape, as well as concerns that critical decisions will be influenced by inaccurate data or mistrust in accurate systems, the reduction of over-reliance on digital tools, and the potential obstruction of operators' security controls due to their physical separation from the ship. They emphasize the importance of equipping long-distance mariners with the necessary knowledge and skills, particularly in the use of digital systems, and highlight the need for future training of seafarers to meet the evolving challenges and incorporate new skills such as communication and multi-ship management.…”