The new report from the Maritime Institute (The Nautical Institute) in collaboration with the Lloyd’s Register Foundation examines the impact of technology on mariners and emphasizes the need to consider their experiences in the design and implementation of maritime systems.
Impacts of Technology in the Maritime Industry
This report, titled "Evidence, Gaps, and the Way Forward," compiles initial findings from the STEER project and shows that technology can improve safety and efficiency, but these benefits are heavily dependent on how systems are designed, introduced, supported, and used.
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A consistent finding in this report is that technology does not operate in isolation, and its impacts on safety, workload, skills, and the well-being of mariners are heavily dependent on how these systems are designed, implemented, and maintained. Evidence also suggests that technology often transfers risk rather than eliminating it.
Concerns of Mariners and the Need for Proper Training
An examination of 471 maritime incidents from 2005 to 2025 revealed that 43.1 percent of these incidents were related to at least one human factor associated with equipment and working conditions. In many cases, technology itself was not the primary factor, and deeper issues such as inadequate training, poor procedures, and weak oversight contributed to these incidents.
Among the 35 cases where technology was identified as a direct cause, 89 percent involved failures in safety management and 77 percent involved inadequate resources. Captain David Patricio, project manager at the Maritime Institute, stated: "Technology brings significant benefits to shipping, but evidence shows that these benefits cannot be judged solely based on technical capabilities. What matters is the performance of systems in real operations and their impact on the people expected to use them."
The report concludes that mariners are not resistant to technological advancements; rather, their concerns are more about difficult or poorly supported systems, insufficient familiarity, inconsistent interfaces, and excessive alarm bells. Technology-related incidents are more dependent on misuse, misunderstanding, or neglect of systems than on hardware failure.
These findings reinforce the central principle of the STEER project: this project argues that mariners should be regarded as the ultimate expert users and should have meaningful opportunities to participate in the design, testing, implementation, and ongoing development of maritime technology.
The report also notes that digitalization and automation can change workload rather than simply reduce it. Poorly integrated systems can lead to task duplication, additional administrative demands, and increased cognitive load, while increased automation can create greater attention to monitoring systems, identifying failures, and recognizing when professional judgment is needed.
This research is based on 105 academic studies, 55 industry publications, and 471 incident reports, along with direct engagement with mariners and other maritime professionals.
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