John Cross

John holds an ON II Navigation Certification as well as a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and a masters in Ocean Engineering. He is also a registered professional engineer. He has been educating mariners (both deck and engine) for the last 20 years with a focus on creating standards for the delivery of distance education to mariners. He has been very involved in looking at the future role of the marine officer with the advent of autonomous ships. He is a member of several autonomous ship working groups.

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Presentation

Assessment of MAS impact on safety using historical data

The development of MAS could hold great promise for improvements in shipping safety. Apart from demonstration projects, MAS has yet to move into full-scale commercial operation, therefore little data or formal safety cases currently exist. Opportunely, there is however a large bank of available information on previous shipping accidents and incidents. This presentation will share the findings of a research project benchmarking the root causes of several historical shipping incidents and the quantitative impact of greater functional autonomy. We will explore safety improvements as well as where the introduction of greater automation could introduce new dangers.