One of the major cahallenges for human beings is undoubtedly to struggle against the nature. As known, it is not possible to overcome the power of nature but to adapt. This adaptation is a matter of survival for mariners. Because the sea; “Qui Bene Amat, Bene Castigat”, that is both “the beloved” and “the severe punisher”. The following lines of the “naval operetta” which we sang with joy and enthusiasm during Naval High School years, tell the mentioned two sides of the sea in a striking way:
O waves, o waves, you ended the lives of many sailors….
….There is no one else who loves you more than us, we have deep devotion to you. Have mercy on the sailors…
A good sailor always puts his mind first. The mind learns from the lessons at sea and applies. It makes the application permanent by making use of science. It also improves and facilitates by utilizing technology.
Technology has reached an unimaginable level nowadays. The human element has been out of the equation in production and governance processes in order to eliminate human errors and increase efficiency, It is being replaced by the communication of machines (internet of things) in a virtual environment. Thanks to this communication provided by cyber physical systems, for example,; It is possible to intervene in malfunctions and perform surgical operations on board ships with remote access.
Among the emerging and groundbreaking technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), big data (BD), quantum, autonomy and robotics, biotechnology, new types of materials and 3D/4D production provide direct/indirect interaction with maritime. AI can make ship lights on/off and even drop/weigh anchor. It is possible to multiply examples because AI may execute high-level cognitive abilities such as reasoning, recognizing, making decisions and applying. Moreover it can quickly obtain accurate and core information from a wide variety of large volumes of data by means of BD technology.
Autonomy and robotic technologies are widely used today. Fires on board the ships can be intervened unmanned or assisted with robots. Significant progress has been made in the use of unmanned sea vehicles, especially in defense and security. However, especially unmanned research vessels particularly around the off-shore platforms are becoming more popular.
On the other hand, no matter how advanced the technology is, the human factor will never be missing in amateur sailing. Amateur sailing is a form of human-sea partnership without any conflict of interest in between.
Amateur sailors are the most vulnerable ones at sea therefore technology is essential for their adaption, safety and survival. Developments in nano technology, sensor technology, synthetic biology and new type of material technology offer resistance to extreme cold/heat, resistance to fires and explosions, and super conductivity to both sailors and ships/boats.
Developing quantum technology which is expected to revolutionize human life within next 20 years will introduce with concepts such as “ultra-sensitive, ultra-fast, ultra-safe, ultra-strong”. For instance; ultra-precision clocks, which are expressed as “1 second backward or forward in 4-5 billion years” can be used in global positioning, navigation and telecommunication. Quantum radars are expected to detect over noise and heat, regardless of the range. It is stated that it will be possible to detect underwater objects with ultra-sensitive magnetic and acoustic sensors, regardless of the depth.
Green energy transformation, which touches many areas of life, has been gaining momentum in maritime as well. Abandoning the use of diesel engines and creating “renewable energy storage areas” on board the ships within next 20 years is among the visionary ideas.
In today’s world, population and consumption are constantly increasing, however terrestrial raw materials and resources are gradually decreasing. So, human being is more dependant on the seas every passing day. From this point of view, it would not be wrong to state that the relationship between human beings and the sea is an oxymoron. Because, on the one hand, the way to prosperity passes through the seas but on the other hand, the sea is not the natural environment of the human. So technology is needed for the harmony of contradiction within this dialectic. When considering technology and maritime together, it is worth to keep in mind the “Amara’s Law”, expressed as “not to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short term and not to underestimate it in the long term”.