Remote, or shore-based, pilotage is an issue of some interest to the maritime community. When discussed, it is often in the context of new technology that in one way or the other is supposed to enhance piloting and enable ships to be piloted from the shore. This paper takes a different approach and instead looks at piloting as control of a complex system. Such an approach makes it possible to identify a fundamental problem with remote pilotage. The problem, along with possible solutions, is presented and discussed.
Shore-based ship assistance is a topic that increasingly is attracting attention from the maritime community. Subjects such as shore-based pilotage and VTS are often discussed and there is technological and political pressure towards more extensive forms of such assistance. Perhaps less often mentioned, but not less important, is the human side of these subjects. The present paper examines two of the central concerns for the people who actually work within today's VTS centers, namely communication and trust. The study consisted of a literature review, study visits, observations and interviews.Communication and trust are found to be closely related, and one main finding is that adapting one's means of communication to the context can be a very powerful (and necessary) tool for the creation of trust. Another important result is that the ability of the shore-based operator to see the situation from the viewpoint of the crew is crucial for the creation and maintenance of trust.
IntroductionDuring spring and summer 2008, a preliminary study of the possibilities and limitations of introducing shore-based pilotage in Swedish waters was conducted by Chalmers University of Technology and the Swedish Maritime Administration. The results of this study have been published in a number of reports and papers (Bruno 2008;Lützhöft et al. 2008;Bruno and Lützhöft 2009;Lützhöft and Bruno 2009).One important conclusion of the preliminary study was that communication and trust are key notions in any form of shore-based ship assistance, and a follow-up study was commissioned to look more closely at these concepts and their relevance in this domain. The follow-up study, which is the subject of this paper, also aimed at getting a better understanding of the processes by which shore-based ship assistance (e.g. VTS, shore-based pilotage) work. The present paper thus specifically adds the trust and communication perspective to the debate, and also generally adds to the understanding of the workings of shore-based ship assistance.
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