There is nothing novel about human fear of new technology, but is the current march of the robots of a different order of threat altogether? Portside activities have already undergone a high degree of automation, cutting jobs, and now the next wave of maritime digital transformation is looming at sea.
Russell Downs, a council member of the Nautilus seafaring union, told a conference last year that 90% of some jobs could be removed through digitalisation and he noted predictions that crewless merchant ships would be used extensively within a decade.
