Unmanned Shipping

brianhumber

brianhumber

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Just recieved the latest transactions from my institute.
One was promoting unmanned shipping. They forecast up to 15% shortfall in crew for the next couple of decades and one answer is to go unmanned.
It was stated the technology existed now and the need for profits would drive the shipping industry this way anyway.
In order to deal with some small vessels and sailing craft not electronically linked to shore stations it was proposed to ammend Col regs 9 to make unmanned shipping run in designated channels that others have duty to avoid.

I do not see how this would work myself but it is an indication of how things are moving shipping industry wise and if there is a big enough profit in doing so I can see the rules being changed. Just image the effect on cross channel racers and other situations

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This old chestnut has come to the surface again, has it? Rule 5 would need some revision, too. How are these ships supposed to get to their designated traffic lanes? However, if they do ever get afloat I guess cross-channel racers etc would have to treat them the same way as they do the TSS and vessels constrained by their draught, NUC , RIAM etc etc i.e. give way to them.

Which is your institute, RIN or NI?

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There is a popular discussion about whether single handed sailing complies with the IRPCS. Is it rule 5? - proper lookout at all times - effectively the vessel is unmanned for a portion of the day.

Unmanned shipping - Could this be said to be a Vessel Not Under Command? Probably not but... If this is the case would it show the appropriate lights, and have right of way over everyone else?

If a vessel is unmanned - and controlled from a shore station - who would be the skipper?


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If there's no-one on board, has the vessel been abandoned?

Chat up mate with helicopter, get dropped on board, take her into the nearest port & claim salvege?

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.. hope somebody's in touch with the almighty to manage wind, weather and other hazards of the sea most cogently summarised by the HoC select committee to mock the most competent naval architect and the most hardy seafarer and including "among the various causes of Shipwreck, which appear susceptible of removal or diminution, the following appear to be the most frequent and the most generally admitted:– defective construction of ships, inadequacy of equipment, imperfect state of repair, improper loading, incompetence of masters and officers, drunkenness of masters and officers" (1836)

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So what else is new?

On my last cross channel run I was pleasantly surprised to see a big Bu**er alter course for me. One of about a dozen give way vessels. The others didn't. Perhaps with their fancy radars the others had worked out that they'd miss me by at least 20 yards ... or perhaps not.

Being an abject coward with an acute phobia about pain/cold water/drowning, I always work on the basis that they're unmanned!

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Re: Would this be worse

We would at least know for sure that no one is paying attention, instead of just guessing that no one is paying attention

<hr width=100% size=1>There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family."
 
Very unlikely scenario

There is no particular problem with the unmanned ship beyond the problem of mooring and connecting to tugs. As we all know, safe manning certificates are based on just this situation. Unmanned ships have been possible for 20 years, and ships with very reduced crews (eg 6 on the Lauritzen reefers in the 90's and 8 on MOL's Southern Cross Maru back in the 80's) have been built and operated.

However, seamen are quite cheap, the world is horribly over populated, and the balance is in favour of having some bodies on board - at the moment the magic number seems to be 16 plus a riding squad of 6, as follows:

Master, to sign bits of paper
3 x watchkeeping deck officers
Chief Engineer, to sign bits of paper
2 x plumbers to mend stuff
1 x Electronics Officer to mend stuff
Cook
Steward
6 x GP ratings to carry stuff, paint stuff, act as lookouts and moor up
16
+ 6 riding squad to mend and paint stuff at lower wages


<hr width=100% size=1>Que scais-je?
 
Rule 3 (f): The term "vessel not under command" means a vessel which through some exceptional circumstance is unable to manoeuvre as required by these rules and is therefore unable to keep out of the way of another vessel.

If a vessel is going routinely to run unmanned then it can hardly be termed exceptional circumstance.

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We've been chatting, my engineer and myself, about having an intelligent yacht that can drive itself about without hitting anything.

Imagine coming alongside, stepping off onto the pier and then telling the boat to go and wait for you. Boat potters off out to a suitable, pre-programmed parking place, points head to wind and holds positon while you go to the pub.

On returning to the pier you whistle to the boat (via your mobile phone) and it makes its way back to the pier. You step aboard and off you go. No mooring lines, anchor, dinghy required.

He (former BAe fly-by-wire systems engineer) says it's all technically possible but might be a bit pricey, especially when all the fail-safes and back-up systems are included.

I did wonder about the colregs, though.



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could just be safer than what we have now, especially in view of the fate of the fishermen from loctudy last week.

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