Maritime's autonomous revolution is coming, even for the tug sector

As director of research and development at Sanmar Shipyards, Tamer Geçkin has a prime vantage point to watch as new technologies enter the maritime industry and make their way into the towage sector.

What he has seen to date has made Mr Geçkin confident that remote and autonomous vessels will become a fixture of shipping, even in the tug sector.

Drawing a parallel to technologies such as the mobile phone that, previously unimaginable, have become a routine part of daily life, Mr Geçkin said he believes autonomous maritime vessels will follow the same well-trodden path.

As to when autonomous tugboats will be regularly seen operating in ports around the world, Mr Geçkin admits the sector has partiularly complex challenges the will create hurdles for the technology’s uptake such as the complexity of tugboat operations and the sizable safety considerations that accompany those operations.

“But it will come to tugboats as well eventually,” Mr Geçkin says in the interview on the sidelines of the 27th International Tug & Salvage Convention.

As evidence, Mr Geçkin highlights the deployment of autonomous vessel technologies in short-route container ships and cargo vessels in Norway. “Although they have captains on board, they do not touch anything that works autonomously,” says Mr Geçkin.

He thinks autonomous technologies will be deployed on tugs and other vessels in stages, with trials at each level.

Mr Geçkin expects emerging technologies to revolutionise onboard maintenance, with shore-based personnel able to interact with a vessel remotely, using augmented reality and video-calling technology.