We have driverless cars on the way now it's cargo ships with no crew (5 live as I type this) there may be trouble ahead.
Ships with no crew.
- Thread starter Chippy_Tea
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BigDave345
Active Member
I really cant see the problem here, do we not already have automation? Try looking up when you next exit your house
It will be OK until the first oil tanker hits something due to computer error and pollutes the sea, they were saying they can save a fortune because they don't need living space, toilet facilities etc so i am assuming crew-less means exactly that, i find that a bit of a worry.
When they mentioned how many ships are at sea worldwide i was gob smacked, as you say where are all the sailors going to find work and obviously if ships are just going to be a control room, engine and a lot of space for cargo all the skilled shipbuilders and people that supply them will be out of a job.
Richie_asg1
Junior Member
Um..... Pirates anyone?
MyQul
Chairman of the Bored
I can definatley see pirates or perhaps organised criminal gangs targeting un-crewed ships. Who's to know that the cargo hasn't been removed until the ship docks at it's target port
Richie_asg1
Junior Member
It's also quite easy to foul ships propellers with floating lines and nets - then where does it go? Board, offload cargo then sink it.
Or, on the flip side, take a cargo of toxic waste and just run it till it runs out of fuel. No loss of life, the thing eventually sinks or washes up somewhere and it is declared an unfortunate mistake with nobody to blame.
I can see it being cost effective, but may have serious implications. A good discussion topic though.:thumb:
BeerCat
Landlord.
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Yes good topic indeed. You just reminded me of a documentary i watched about them dumping nuclear waste of the UK coast. I guess a crewless boat would suit their plans well. The really sad thing is these barrels are still out there waiting to leak and poison the Ocean. They even located some remotely.
BigDave345
Active Member
I still cant see the problem here look up at the sky look at them big things flying around by themselves
BreadMurderer
Meat Popsicle
The solution to protecting the ships cargo? Simple. Just have a few Cyberdyne Systems series T-800, Model 101 Terminator's on board.
murphysmum
Well-Known Member
For me the main issue is that computers cannot apply common sense. The route says go left - the ship will go left, regardless of what may be in its path. A stranded ship? A pod of whales? Anything. From a pure economics point of view, yes keep it automated where practicable but with at least someone that can override a system should they need to. But from a moral viewpoint, my own personal opinion is that its very wrong to trust the delicate balance of the oceans wellbeing to a computer - no matter how sophisticated. One small glitch could be yet another mad made disaster.
They have pilots.
GlentoranMark
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Pilots are not needed, they are mainly there as reassurance for passengers. 80% of all plane crashes are due to human error
Pirates would have a job hijacking these. They'd have no means to steer as it would all be controlled from other parts of the world. Biggest problem I could see is docking and navigating harbours.
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qtr_2_07/article_03_2.html
I know one thing for sure if i had the choice between flying with a pilot (needed or not) or flying without i would pay extra to fly with one.
BreadMurderer
Meat Popsicle
To be fair though I'm highly sceptical that the first round of these boats to sail the seven seas would be completely unmanned. There would still need to be some sort of general maintenance needed plus the ultimate backup, a human brain. What this will allow is a skeleton crew instead of a full one.
It's like the driverless lorries they are going to be tested soon in England, they still require a driver to be present in case of unexpected emergencies but in theory they could be left alone. But it just won't happen. Not yet. :twisted:
BigDave345
Active Member
Aircraft are flown by computers once in the sky!
Pilots are there simply to take off and land the thing
murphysmum
Well-Known Member
Here is one scenario - one crew free ship sailing along when the computer malfunctions an starts dumping fuel causing a massive oil slick. In turn that injures and kills sea life and sea birds - all of which make up the natural eco-system. Some of which could be endangered species. A top class programmer somewhere manages to over-write the error and switch the computer off. Another ship then has to go and rescue the first one - double the pollution. Marine biologists, teams of clear-up experts, etc all then have to get to the spill - treble the pollution - let alone the suffering to thee wildlife affected. Yes, I know its all very dramatic - and all very possible. I shall step down off my very green high horse now, but mankinds greed has already destroyed so much of this planet - it seems like we (humans) will never learn.
