Considering that £18.7bn is contributed by the maritime industry to the UK economy, many are unaware of the significance of this sector. Over 95% of UK supplies are delivered by sea, from food, medicines, energy, combined with security and sub-sea cabled networks also primarily delivered by the maritime sector.
By contrast, the maritime sector is experiencing a notable skills shortage, with expectations that within five years this will significantly affect supply chains and potentially increased risk of cyber-attacks.
Here we explore how SeaBot Maritime and its team helps contribute to the Maritime sector’s national ambition.
Greener industry
As part of the UK government’s ambitions for clean maritime and greener ports, the UK Shipping Office committed £206m to help accelerate decarbonisation, in addition to the government assisting the funding of projects through trials and feasibility studies and trials.
SeaBot Maritime’s focus on bringing people and technology together, particularly in maritime autonomy and smart shipping, helps to create a greener industry. Through the adoption of this new technology and associated renewed operations, the requirement for large expensive, carbon-heavy and often less safe vessels carrying crew is reduced.
These new trends have driven the need for new, smaller, lighter and greater role-defined unmanned craft, often operated from an onshore remote operations centre (ROC).
This also enables broader career opportunities beyond working onboard, with personnel now being able to come from a host of backgrounds and physical abilities, due to the changing nature of the sector.
By way of example, ROCs now not need to be coastal based, attract a different skillset to maritime, and enable those less mobile to operate vessels remotely.
Technological Advancement
SeaBot Maritime’s team is working closely with the key industry leaders across both the UK and internationally, in driving the adoption and integration of technology into maritime organisations and their assets.
Smart Shipping vessel operators across both the commercial and defence space are already adapting and building vessels that enable ships to efficiently operate with less crew and with new propulsion and fuels, helping to deliver safer, greener and smarter seas.
Supply Chain
Reviews and developments in transportation solutions have identified that autonomous carrier vessels will be at the forefront of intermodal supply chain movements in the near future, running coastal and internal waterways; helping free up the road and rail networks and creating a greener solution.
The challenges of operating autonomous craft in often and busy and hazardous waterborne environments are many. UK SHORE is one such government and DFT initiative that clearly illustrates how UK coastal waters will free up road and rail activity; to achieve cost effective, timely and sustainable long-term outcomes.
SeaBot Maritime is committed to assisting those embracing future waterborne passenger and cargo transit, particularly across autonomy.
Take SeaBot Maritime's recently launched MASS Certified Professional Training Scheme has pioneered the training of autonomous vehicle operatives to a regularly standard, which was specifically designed for its longstanding client, Fugro.
The maritime sector needs to continually ensure its workforce is sufficiently skilled and their organisation is adaptive to the sector’s innovations as they emerge. Decarbonisation is a key part of maritime’s ambitions and to achieve this will require new innovations together with new and a continually reskilled workforce to ensure its success.
Contact the team info@seabotmaritime.com to discover how SeaBot Maritime can help your organisation, its people and its assets fully adopt, adapt - and safely, cleanly and efficiently - embrace emerging technology.