Technology has been a major game changer in maritime affairs for thousands of years. Maritime historians recognise significant periods when the development of shipping and its global expansion has taken place.[1] From propulsion changes from rowing to sail, from construction methods that enabled larger vessels to be built and improvements in the navigation methods that led historians to label periods such as the age of discovery and the age of navigation.[2][3]
In later periods too technology has
enabled major advances in shipping.
The
Industrial Revolution at the end of the 1800’s was such a period when in a
relatively short period of time massive changes in shipping took place.
Stopford[4]
summarises the development such:
“Between 1833 and 1914 every
aspect of ship design changed. The hull grew from 176ft. to 901ft and gross
tonnage from 137 tons to 45,647 tons. Hull construction switched from wood to
iron in the 1850s, from iron to steel in the 1880s, paddle propulsion was
replaced in the 1880’s by screws driven by steam engines. Triple expansion
steam engines arrived in the 1880s and turbines from 1900. Speed increased from
7 knots per hour in 1833 to 25 knots per hour in 1907, and fuel consumption
from around 20 tons a day to 1,000 tons a day.”
It is
possible that such technological impacts can be identified as waves in the
history of shipping development, waves of technology.[5]
In the
20th century and today in the 21st century can we
identify such rapid technology impacts on shipping that could be described as
waves.
The
1950’s and 1960’s might meet such criteria and I shall call that period one of
“traditional navigational and propulsion method change”.
Prior
to this period two technologies had already influenced ship navigation.
Developed in the early part of the century, the Second World war accelerated
their implementation.
The
gyro compass replaced the magnetic compass and provided a reliable means to
ascertain true north unlike the magnetic compass.
RADAR
had been in development for some time but in the 1940’s the first commercial
ships had this alternative means to detect maritime traffic and land[6]
So by
the 1950’s seafarers were already using technological navigational alternatives
to traditional methods. However they were not always welcome. A personal
history supports this.
In thick fog in the Dover Strait as a newly certified third officer I was radar plotting. The radar was a screen that displayed “blips” representing ships within a 10 to 12 nautical miles distance. Radar plotting [8]involved measuring the relative angle from the ships heading and the blips distance on the radar and transferring the information to a radial paper plotting sheet. Doing this enabled me to report to the captain the potential risk from ships around us. I remember being very proud of my inputs to this serious hazardous navigation exercise. Not so the captain. “Stop playing with that new-fangled gadget and get out onto the wing of the bridge with binoculars and keep a proper lookout!! Suitably chastised I resumed my traditional watch-keeping role.
There
is a clear implication in that little episode. There are consequences in
implementing new technologies on ships, not least that all involved officers
are suitably trained! I will return to this later.
Shifting maritime technology
A series of six stations depicted the technological changes
that have affected the mariner’s work.
1.
From mechanical controls of the ship to
electronic joysticks and dynamic positioning
2.
From sextant to GPS
3.
From conventional propeller and rudder to azipod and thrusters
4.
5.
From radio to satellite phone
6.
A shift from general cargo vessels to
specialised ships.
all were described and illustrated in a series of physical
objects and visitor-controlled screens.
Collectively,
these technological changes have radically changed the work of the ship’s
officer.
1.
Out with the ships mechanical telegraph, in with direct motor control
from the bridge and unmanned engine rooms.
2.
Out with celestial navigation and irregular ship position fixing, in with
constant knowledge of where you were.
3.
Out with rudders and fixed propellers and in with multiple azimuth system
rotating propellors
4.
Out with paper charts and the chart room. In with constantly updated
electronic charts.
5.
Out with short wave radio communication and in with VHF and satellite
communication.
6.
Out with derricks and cargo handling, in with container and ro-ro ships.
The
broader ramifications of such changes were huge effecting changing roles at sea
and a new demand for training.
·
Many ships no longer needed harbour tugs to berth as they could manoeuvre
themselves.
·
Port facilities had to adapt to larger specialised ships with new loading
and storing facilities.
·
The need for high voltage maintenance on board ship for the azimuth
propulsion system required a new engineer officer, the Electrical Officer.
These
are just a few examples of the ramifications of that wave of maritime
technology in the 1960’s had and placed a huge demand for training from
authorities and shipping companies.
Now in
the 2020’s looking forward to the 2040’s many believe we are on the edge of a
new wave of technology in shipping.
Spurred
on by the need to reduce fossil fuels in ships and the increasing integration
of ship and shore in a global digital network the future looks evermore
digital.
Digitalisation
and decarbonisation were identified by DNV[12]
as major drivers for change incorporating a range of new technologies into
maritime activities.
The
World Maritime University [13]identified
some of the technologies that we can expect in the future.
“The use of smart and digital
ships is currently expanding and will grow even further with the wider
utilization of technologies such as AI, digitalization, machine learning and
mature semantic and cognitive technologies. The future ship will be smarter; data-driven;
greener due to flexible powering options; and offer full onboard Wi-Fi and
digital connections through global satellites and mobile communications”.
The
consequences of these new technologies on seafarer training and competence we
will address in a new articles.
References
‘Azipod - Google Search’. Accessed 1 February 2024.
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=ba846a2fd35e5017&sxsrf=ACQVn09Ltio3-RdzfrnzYV36xY0rDAW0oA:1706782371347&q=azipod&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwibyM_n84mEAxWCPxAIHZIUDqoQ0pQJegQICxAB&biw=1121&bih=478&dpr=1.1#imgrc=U1etSuxAGKgL9M.
DNV. ‘Competence Certification’. Accessed
28 January 2024. https://www.dnv.com/Default.
‘DNV_Future_of_Seafarers_Report_web
(1).Pdf’, n.d.
‘Dynamic Positioning - Google Search’.
Accessed 1 February 2024.
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=ba846a2fd35e5017&sxsrf=ACQVn09dRdkZLQAC46tLemfL_pparDPbmA:1706782275142&q=dynamic+positioning&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihzN-584mEAxXCPxAIHYdLAHgQ0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1121&bih=478&dpr=1.1#imgrc=CffvuCj4orJtBM.
‘Ecdis - Google Search’. Accessed 1
February 2024.
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=ba846a2fd35e5017&sxsrf=ACQVn0-AAyEGljsNAH8v-UEFQQaiz6_YnA:1706782528177&q=ecdis&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwip3bOy9ImEAxVyGhAIHemcAdgQ0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1121&bih=478&dpr=1.1#imgrc=jKXgj2AO3EHRZM.
‘Green Radar Screen - Google Search’.
Accessed 1 February 2024.
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=ba846a2fd35e5017&sxsrf=ACQVn09IrGm7V92r9Quo22jQkD_vhj8e8g:1706782943017&q=green+radar+screen&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjAu5v49YmEAxUPFBAIHbMtBQ4Q0pQJegQICxAB&biw=1121&bih=478&dpr=1.1#imgrc=ajtk46IDIc2MFM.
‘Maritime History’. In Wikipedia,
26 January 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maritime_history&oldid=1199162693.
‘Maritime Timeline’. In Wikipedia,
22 September 2023.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maritime_timeline&oldid=1176623803.
Quora. ‘When Was Radar First Used on
Civilian Ships?’ Accessed 28 January 2024.
https://www.quora.com/When-was-radar-first-used-on-civilian-ships.
‘Ship - Navigation, Seafaring,
Exploration | Britannica’. Accessed 26 January 2024.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/ship/History-of-ships.
‘Shipping, Technological Change |
Encyclopedia.Com’. Accessed 26 January 2024.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/shipping-technological-change.
Stopford, Martin. Maritime Economics.
page 29-30. Accessed 5 May 2022.
https://asp.bibliotekservice.no/sjofart/title.aspx?tkey=55207.
The Maritime Executive. ‘How Radar for
Merchant Ships Developed’. Accessed 28 January 2024.
https://maritime-executive.com/blog/how-radar-for-merchant-ships-developed.
World Maritime University, Aykut Ölçer,
Momoko Kitada, Khanssa Lagdami, Fabio Ballini, Anas Alamoush, and Peyman
Ghaforian Masodzadeh. ‘Transport 2040 : Impact of Technology on Seafarers - The
Future of Work’. World Maritime University, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.21677/230613.
[1] ‘Maritime History’.
[2] ‘Maritime Timeline’.
[3] ‘Ship - Navigation,
Seafaring, Exploration | Britannica’.
[4] Stopford, Martin, Maritime Economics.
[5] ‘Shipping,
Technological Change | Encyclopedia.Com’.
[6] ‘When Was Radar
First Used on Civilian Ships?’
[7] ‘Green Radar Screen
- Google Search’.
[8] ‘How Radar for
Merchant Ships Developed’.
[9] ‘Dynamic Positioning
- Google Search’.
[10] ‘Azipod - Google
Search’.
[11] ‘Ecdis - Google
Search’.
[12] ‘DNV_Future_of_Seafarers_Report_web (1).Pdf’.
[13] World
Maritime University et al., ‘Transport 2040’.
