The business case and market readiness for supervised automation

Fuel is one of shipping’s biggest cost lines, and consistency is rapidly becoming the new currency of compliance under CII and the EU ETS. This insight looks at why automation’s commercial case rests on consistent execution rather than new strategies, and why market readiness is uneven, with strong interest but limited familiarity across the fleet.

Regardless of the importance of technical feasibility and safety considerations in supervised propulsion automation, its success ultimately depends on whether operators can demonstrate clear commercial benefits.

Fuel remains one of the highest operating costs in maritime transport; even small improvements in fuel efficiency can lead to major cost savings across large fleets. Speed optimisation tools improve efficiency when applied consistently, and automated propulsion control can further enhance these gains by maintaining optimal operating profiles more closely than the crew can.

Dr Timoleon Plessas, Founder of Sealion Engineering, explained, “If you don’t follow the suggestions consistently, you will not have consistent results.”

Automation does not fundamentally change optimisation strategies; it increases the likelihood that optimisation recommendations are implemented in real operational environments.

In the context of emissions regulations such as the CII and the EU Emissions Trading System, operators are increasingly required to demonstrate measurable efficiency improvements, which means optimisation tools that consistently apply corrections will become more valuable.

While elements of propulsion automation already exist in maritime, the integration of real-time optimisation with direct engine control remains a relatively new development. This approach of linking cloud-based optimisation algorithms with onboard propulsion systems has only recently become technically possible.

As a result, adoption remains uneven across the industry, with “a lot of automation already happening, but it’s not accessible or affordable to everyone, that’s the real limitation,” said Prateek Rana, Maritime Decarbonisation Consultant, Siglar Carbon.

Despite uneven adoption of this more advanced form of propulsion automation, uptake across the maritime industry is likely to increase gradually. The ability to act on ambition is not evenly distributed. As Erkut Denizci, Fleet Manager at ITM, noted, “Everybody understands speed optimisation is very important, everybody wants to do it, but not everybody has the structured data, right tools and resources to allocate.”

This goes some way to explaining why market readiness remains uneven. Interest is widespread, but access to the right expertise and tools does not match this. Operational conditions vary across vessel types and use purposes, and these differences can influence how automation is implemented.

The level of benefits achieved through optimisation and automation can vary by vessel type. In some types, greater scheduling flexibility can give operators more room to adjust speed and manage arrival times. Even with more fixed arrival times, there can still be significant gains from more controlled propulsion and a more consistent approach.

The readiness of individual fleets to adopt automation will depend on several factors, including the reliability of onboard sensor systems, the availability of high-frequency operational data, and the degree of integration between optimisation software and vessel control systems.

The maritime industry’s readiness to adopt supervised automation is also an important factor. For example, crew training, operational procedures, and confidence in digital systems all influence how quickly automation can be introduced into daily operations.

Survey responses suggest familiarity remains limited, as 58% say they are not very or not at all familiar with such systems, while 67% say they could be very or extremely valuable, suggesting clear interest despite limited exposure.

For fleets that are already reaching the limits of what advisory voyage optimisation tools can do, supervised propulsion automation could be the natural next step in expanding their technology stack. For companies slightly further behind in their digitalisation process, improvements to data infrastructure and operational processes might still be required before automation is taken seriously.

Read more in our insightful report 'Precision in motion' or watch our latest webinar where we discuss all about this topic here.