The British marine publication Yachting Monthly published a story on what they describe as: “the cruising sailor’s worst nightmare: there’s nobody on the bridge, the officer ‘on watch’ is in a call center ashore.”
The story details $5 million in funding by the European Union into remote-controlled container ships that will traverse the world’s oceans without any crew. The ships, almost a quarter of a mile long and wider than a six-lane highway, could be trading from Singapore to Southampton within a decade, according to the publication.
“I have heard of this mad idea and it is true — they probably can operate remote-controlled ships, but that completely ignores other legal users of the sea,” the report quotes Stuart Carruthers, cruising manager of the Royal Yachting Association.
