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2024 Journal Impact Factor - 0.6
2024 CiteScore - 1.9
ISSN 2083-6473
ISSN 2083-6481 (electronic version)
Editor-in-Chief
Associate Editor
Prof. Tomasz Neumann
Published by
TransNav, Faculty of Navigation
Gdynia Maritime University
3, John Paul II Avenue
81-345 Gdynia, POLAND
e-mail transnav@umg.edu.pl
e-Navigation vs. Autonomous Navigation – Challenges for Marine Pilots
1 Gdynia Maritime University, Gdynia, Poland
ABSTRACT: Maritime navigation is currently evolving along two parallel paths: e‑Navigation, designed to integrate and harmonize ship‑ and shore‑based information for enhanced decision‑making, and Autonomous Navigation, which seeks to transfer these decisions to automated and remotely supervised systems. This paper explores how these two trajectories align and diverge, focusing on their impact on marine pilots. The e‑Navigation concept, including the IMO‑endorsed S‑Mode interface standardization, has demonstrated tangible benefits for pilotage by improving situational awareness, operational safety, and data exchange through standardized user interfaces and information flows. In contrast, the transition toward autonomous vessels raises significant technological, operational, legal, and human‑factor challenges, including redefined pilot roles, liability issues, mixed‑fleet operations, and cybersecurity risks. While both approaches rely on similar enabling technologies, their design philosophies differ fundamentally: e‑Navigation augments human expertise, whereas Autonomous Navigation seeks to reduce or replace it. The paper concludes with recommendations for pilot training, competencies, and regulatory frameworks, emphasizing human‑machine collaboration and staged implementation.
KEYWORDS: Automatic Identification System (AIS), e-Navigation, Environment Protection, Collision Avoidance, Vessel Monitoring Service, Operational Use of ECDIS, Radar Navigation, Autonomous Ships
REFERENCES
Lützhöft M., Earthy J., Human-Centred Autonomous Shipping. A Balkema Book, CRS Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, 2023. - doi:10.1201/9781003430957
Weintrit A., Handbook on Operational Use of ECDIS, A Balkema Book, CRS Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, London, New York, Leiden, 2009.
Wright, R.G., Unmanned and Autonomous Ships. An Overview of MASS. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, New York 2020. doi:10.1201/9780429450655 - doi:10.1201/9780429450655
Citation note:
Weintrit A.: e-Navigation vs. Autonomous Navigation – Challenges for Marine Pilots. TransNav, the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, Vol. 19, No. 2, doi:10.12716/1001.19.02.03, pp. 361-369, 2025
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