The introduction of the maritime autonomous surface ship (MASS) to the maritime industry will open up a new era and bring about a new paradigm shift in terms of cost efficiency, maritime accidents, and human resources. Various studies are currently being conducted to realize the MASS. Understanding the scope and direction of these studies will be of great help for future MASS research. In this study, the current development status of technologies for autonomous ships is identified, and considerations and directions of improvement are suggested for six major research fields that cover all technological issues of MASS. Firstly, the results of the regulatory scoping exercise (RSE) on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions to accept MASSs are identified; in particular, human elements are identified as vital issues to be considered for the design and operation of MASSs. Secondly, various studies on the decision-making system are identified, and the future direction is suggested. Thirdly, in terms of ship design and propulsion system, design changes for autonomous cargo ships are investigated, with their potential impacts to be considered. Fourthly, the communication system will need to be robust and supported by multiple systems to minimize potential risk with third-party infrastructures, and suitable protection of systems, networks, and data will be required as an integral part of the safety system for cybersecurity. Fifthly, issues of maintenance and repair are identified, with a maintenance strategy to be considered. Lastly, hazard analysis of the autonomous ship is explored, and system-theoretic process analysis (STPA) and the functional resonance analysis method (FRAM) are identified as the most representative new methods that can be used for hazard analysis of autonomous ships.

With numerous efforts undertaken by both industry and academia to develop and implement autonomous merchant vessels, their safety remains an utmost priority. One of the modes of their operation which is expected to be used is a remote control. Therein, some, if not all, decisions will be made remotely by human operators and executed locally by a vessel control system. This arrangement incorporates a possibility of a human factor occurrence. To this end, a variety of factors are known in the literature along with a complex network of mutual relationships between them. In order to study their potential influence on the safety of remotely-controlled merchant vessels, an expert study has been conducted using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System-Maritime Accidents (HFACS–MA) framework. The results indicate that the most relevant for the safety of this prospective system is to ensure that known problems are properly and timely rectified and that remote operators maintain their psycho- and physiological conditions. The experts elicited have also assigned higher significance to the causal factors of active failures than latent failures, thus indicating a general belief that operators’ actions represent the final and the most important barrier against accident occurrence.

When analyzing ship accidents, there may be doubts whether appropriate countermeasures had been taken to prevent known types of accidents. This study aimed to suggest possible solutions by investigating the status and issues associated with the implementation of countermeasures using importance–performance analysis (IPA), Borich’s needs assessment, and locus for focus models based on previously identified causes of the ship accidents. As a result, firstly, we confirmed that there is a need to enhance education and training on specific knowledge, understanding, and proficiency (KUP) regarding ship stability, emergency response, and type specific training. Secondly, we confirmed that there is a need for a system of monitoring a seafarer’s KUP even while onboard a vessel—that is, after completion of identified training. Additionally, it is necessary to improve the seafarers’ working environment, which is subject to regulations. Thirdly, difficulties in solving wrong practice parts of safety and efficiency, such as the costs associated with implementation of safety regulations, were identified as the main reasons for the causes of the “not amended yet” sector after accidents. Lastly, the tools that were employed in this analysis can be used to confirm the implementation status of the actions to be taken after a ship accident.

Virtual reality (VR) has been adopted for education and training in numerous lines of work. In the field of maritime education and training (MET), training with VR has been implemented in areas such as engine room system familiarization, dangerous work onboard familiarization, and emergency response. In addition, in line with current trends in maritime autonomous surface ship (MASS) technology developments, trial applications of VR have been implemented to understand the applicability of this type of vessel. Moreover, there is an increasing need to reinforce education/training in MET to reduce ship accidents. The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of satisfaction with VR education/training, the impact of that education, and matters requiring training emphasis for implementation. To this end, the training participants’ satisfaction with VR training was compared to that of video training, and items of strategic importance in the training content were identified using Borich’s needs assessment, after which the educational impact of VR training was compared to that of video training. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the extended application of MET using VR, and can help in identifying areas for emphasis in training to reduce maritime accidents.