An evaluation of future skills required for smart ships'efficient operations

The maritime sector is undergoing towards a digital transformation alongside developments in technology across various industries. Incorporating advanced systems, technologies, and intelligent approaches into ships lead to unusual ship management for maritime companies and crew members. Therefore, the skills and competencies required for the efficient operation of smart ship systems should be reevaluated, and any identified gaps should be addressed. Consequently, this study provides a comprehensive and practical assessment of the future skills needed for maritime transportation to reveal vital competencies to sustain operations properly onboard with new technologies. For this purpose, future skills are categorized into four groups: technical, cognitive, individual, and social. Eight, six, eight, and four distinct skills have been identified within these groups, respectively. A questionnaire is then created to measure the interrelationships among these skills and is distributed to a consortium of six marine experts. The six experts have experience in several shipping-related fields, including marine engineering, navigation, and naval academy. The experts'judgments for each skill are collected and analyzed using the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique, as this method establishes a structural model that outlines the causal relationships between the skills and illustrates the relationships among the parameters. As a result of the analysis, cognitive skills are found to be the most critical among the main skill categories, with a 13.50 prominence score. Additionally, it is noted that data-related skill requirements are significant for the future of shipping. In this context, data monitoring and data processing have prominence scores of 12.94 and 12.14, respectively. Effective communication is also considered essential in future shipping, just as it is today.