Successful Autonomous Transport – The Need for Coordination and Integration of Strategical and Operational Management

The rapid pace of technological and societal changes creates a strong need for competence, standards and regulations that allows for exploiting the benefits of new technology, without operating at an unacceptable risk level. To be successful, resilience perspectives may be used to identify future functionality and adaption requirements, including flexibility of operation and interrelations between actors. This includes identifying principles for handling both normal operations and anomalies.

The Norwegian Research funded project MARMAN (Maritime Resilience Management of an Integrated Transport System) emphasises system challenges and requirements faced with increased automation and connectivity, including implementation of MASS (Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships). Particular attention is on integrated planning at different management levels (from government to operational practise) and the interrelations between the levels.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a future Maritime Transport System (MTS) can prepare for successful implementation of MASS in an increasingly automated transport system. This includes to identify hazards, risks, operational procedures and challenges, collaboration within the MTS, deviation management, standardisation, in addition to planning capabilities to cope with them.

The paper describes automation of the maritime transport system, related risks and integrated planning. Further, the paper discusses main challenges for successful implementation of MASS and management at strategical and operational level to handle these. This includes resilience perspectives e.g. potential resources in case of procedure deviations and emergency preparedness.

Keywords: Transport, Autonomy, Automation, Resilience, Management, Integrated planning, Procedures, Standards.

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