photo: STOCKSNAP. IO
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Some talk about digitalisation but do very little.
The pirate of the future may simply be a hacker, typing away on his laptop, perhaps thousands of kilometres away from the target.
get hurt, either – there are concerns for cyber security. Rönnberg points out that the pirate of the future may simply be a hacker, typing away on his laptop, perhaps thousands of kilometres away from the target.
“ We must make sure that autonomous ships can’ t be hijacked in this manner.”
PLATFORM ECONOMY EMERGING
Still, autonomous ships are very trendy right now, but the bulk of digitalisation is visible in other things. Rönnberg points out to the great digitalisation process of the entire logistics chain: whether you’ re talking about ships, trains, planes or cars, it’ s all part of the same global infrastructure that is very much online.
“ Right now, it’ s becoming a question of who is making the best use of the transportation platforms out there.”
According to Rönnberg, digitalisation is a hot topic in the industry, but not everybody is in a position to fully understand its possibilities – let alone take advantage of them.
“ We have a situation where some talk about digitalisation but do very little. Others, on the other hand, are deeply involved exploring the digital opportunities
– and some, unfortunately, run the risk of falling behind entirely.”
Rönnberg is also of the opinion that the current development is likely to reduce the amount of ships sailing the seas – although the shift will be gradual and slow.
“ In the first stage, we are likely to see the growth in new-builds slowing down.”
EMBRACE THE DIGITAL
Olli Kaljala from Bureau Veritas notes that the digital tools have already changed the way classification societies operate: Bureau Veritas, for example, has used Google glasses in support of auditing.
“ Also, using drones to collect data from vessels is an efficient new tool,” he says, adding that any new methods which bring speed and reliability into the over-all process are embraced by the classifiers.
“ Looking at the marine industry, certainly everyone benefits when, for example, ship plans can be distributed digitally to a large group and commented easily within that group.” Naturally, those plans are 3D: Kaljala believes that pretty soon all ships will originate as 3D models.
Maritime is also leaning heavily into the world of big data which means that the industry is eager to harvest the very best pieces of information – from the vast amount of data it is producing each year – and put them to good use. Kaljala believes that various data collection and analysis tools will continue to be developed and user experience will be a big driver in this process:
“ Information should be readily available and accessible, or otherwise there won’ t be much use for it.”
360 ° APPROACH TO SECURITY
Kaljala shares Rönnberg’ s concerns over cyber security: as all systems become electronic, there may be vulnerabilities that no one has really exposed yet. Kaljala points out that when various systems interconnect, the interface must be hack-proof:
“ These link-ups have to be solid and secure in all conditions.”
Talking about the emergence of autonomous ships, Kaljala comments that the entire field of global maritime is so vast, that the autonomous ship projects – as well as the plans for new ones – represent little more than a drop in the ocean.
“ Nevertheless, the situation is developing all time, and it’ s something that classification societies have to deal with in the future. Cyber security onboard these vessels is obviously one key concern.” n
20 seatec 2 / 2017