Improving Safety of Navigation and Sustainability of Shipping Through Innovative Autonomous Shipping Technologies in Asia Pacific: Case Study of Thailand

Abstract

The concept of autonomous vehicle has also extent to maritime vessels due to the potential of minimizing operational cost, removing the difficulties to hire crew member on board, reducing the discharge of garbage and sewage, and lowering number of human error induced incidents during the voyage mainly due to human exhaustion. This article explored lessons from stakeholders in Thailand on how they prepare for adopting autonomous shipping by using the qualitative approach through documentary and field survey, interviews with experts and organizing a focus group comprising participants from relevant government authorities and business sectors, evaluated opportunities and threats and readiness of Thailand to engage in innovative autonomous shipping; and proposed guidelines for implementing autonomous shipping in Thailand. The result showed that Thailand should gradually promote autonomous shipping in the medium to long terms by raising awareness and opening mindset to us autonomous vessels in commercial shipping, innovating education, modernizing regulations through various stages ship construction and operations, creating government and port technical platforms to communicate with autonomous vessels, and conducting pilot testing in designated closed navigation system prior to commercializing it in national and international scale.