Human Factor in MASS Shipping

ABSTRACT: The paper presents the influence of the human factor on the safety of autonomous shipping with respect to interaction between management personnel involved in autonomous ship operation - Ship Master and ROC (Remote Operation Centre) operator. Against the background of the works conducted by International Maritime Organization (IMO)and the European Union, the influence of the human factor was analysed depending on the MASS (Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship) level of autonomy defined by IMO. A Bayesian-based model was proposed to assess the reliability of the Ship Master, ROC operator and their influence on the operational reliability of sea voyage of MASS with level 2 of autonomy. The mutual high reliability of both the Ship Master and ROC operator allows for significant improvement of sea voyage reliability. The prospect theory was introduced in the analysis of decisions making process in risky conditions of ROC operator, remotely controlling MASS with level 3 of autonomy, without a crew on board. The influence of the operator’s prospect and emotions can be described using decision weight functions. In both studied cases, decision support and cooperation is very important and the estimated influence of the human factor is lower than for a ship with level 1 of autonomy operated by Ship Master without ROC support.

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Citation note:

Abramowicz-Gerigk T., Burciu Z., Smacki A.: Human Factor in MASS Shipping. TransNav, the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, Vol. 19, No. 4, doi:10.12716/1001.19.04.05, pp. 1089-1094, 2025

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