Maritime Safety – Looked at in a new way
The UK Department of Transport has named this week from 5th to 9th July, Maritime Safety Week 2021– an opportunity for organisations such as HM Coastguard, charities and port authorities, to share best safety practices and knowledge, and to challenge each other to enhance already rigorous standards.
With that in mind, we asked London Shipping Operations Director Johan Gahnstrom for his thoughts on maritime safety today around our coastline, and how the integration of new technologies could open up opportunity for further strengthening our safety at sea.
We who work within the maritime sector tend to look for solutions close to where we are today, rather than to look at other sectors, which might have solved simple things with advanced technologies. Yes, I know there is great innovation taking place across the maritime sector currently, with strides being made in autonomous shipping amongst other things. However, sometimes there could be big rewards to be reaped from taking smaller steps and borrowing technologies developed and already deployed in other sectors.
I was reminded of this when I read that the national center for Search and Rescue at sea in Sweden just implemented an AI system to monitor MAYDAY calls on all the relevant VHF and short-wave bands – a world first.
The concept was created so that integrated AI technology can effectively intercept and interpret incoming mayday calls, for simpler transmission to the response operators.
It is amazing to think that this kind of AI, otherwise know as speech recognition, which is readily available in most phones today, is not actually used more often in safety systems at sea.
In fact this type of technology could be installed in all ship radio equipment to listen to MAYDAY calls down the line, for easy recognition of ship call signs and names, and simple transmission and interpretation back to the officer in charge.
My question to you out there, what more in the ordinary telephone’s capabilities would you like to see used as a safety feature onboard ships? The market is out there and we hope that the IMO will listen to more such great ideas for innovation.