Will marine engineers be replaced by AI?
Updated
Marine engineers score 46 out of 100 for AI exposure. AI helps with 70% of their task time, and they stay in charge. AI can do another 6%. 24% needs a person.
- 6% AI can do it
- 70% AI helps
- 24% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 65% of the 923 jobs we scored.
Task by task
We graded 30 tasks, most exposed first. AI can do 2 of them, helps with 21 and leaves 7 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain records of engineering department activities, including expense records and details of equipment maintenance and repairs. Logging expenses and maintenance records is routine digital work. | 75% AI can do it |
| Prepare technical reports for use by engineering, management, or sales personnel. Drafting technical reports from data suits LLMs well. | 72% AI can do it |
| Prepare, or direct the preparation of, product or system layouts and detailed drawings and schematics. CAD and AI drafting produce drawings; engineer reviews and approves. | 58% AI helps |
| Prepare plans, estimates, design and construction schedules, and contract specifications, including any special provisions. Drafting specs and schedules is quick; estimates need checking. | 58% AI helps |
| Conduct analyses of ships, such as stability, structural, weight, and vibration analyses. Simulation software runs analyses; engineer interprets and validates results. | 55% AI helps |
| Maintain contact with, and formulate reports for, contractors and clients to ensure completion of work at minimum cost. Drafting reports and updates is AI-friendly; relationships stay human. | 55% AI helps |
| Analyze data to determine feasibility of product proposals. AI speeds data analysis; feasibility judgement stays with engineers. | 55% AI helps |
| Review work requests and compare them with previous work completed on ships to ensure that costs are economically sound. Comparing past records and costs is data-heavy and suits AI. | 55% AI helps |
| Procure materials needed to repair marine equipment and machinery. Sourcing and purchase orders automate well; supplier approval stays human. | 55% AI helps |
| Study design proposals and specifications to establish basic characteristics of craft, such as size, weight, speed, propulsion, displacement, and draft. AI parses proposals and estimates characteristics; engineer decides. | 50% AI helps |
Show the other 20 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Conduct analytical, environmental, operational, or performance studies to develop designs for products, such as marine engines, equipment, and structures. Simulation and data analysis speed studies; engineer directs them. | 50% AI helps |
| Schedule machine overhauls and the servicing of electrical, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, and sewage systems. Scheduling tools help planning; crew availability needs human judgement. | 50% AI helps |
| Design complete hull and superstructure according to specifications and test data, in conformity with standards of safety, efficiency, and economy. CAD tools speed hull design; engineer is responsible for safety approval. | 45% AI helps |
| Establish arrangement of boiler room equipment and propulsion machinery, heating and ventilating systems, refrigeration equipment, piping, and other functional equipment. CAD aids arrangement drafting; spatial and safety judgement stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Determine conditions under which tests are to be conducted, as well as sequences and phases of test operations. Test planning drafts from standards; execution needs engineer oversight. | 40% AI helps |
| Coordinate activities with regulatory bodies to ensure repairs and alterations are at minimum cost and consistent with safety. Paperwork assisted; regulator liaison needs human accountability. | 35% AI helps |
| Design layout of craft interior, including cargo space, passenger compartments, ladder wells, and elevators. CAD tools aid layout drafting; code compliance needs engineer review. | 35% AI helps |
| Act as liaisons between ships' captains and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained, and that ships are operated safely and efficiently. Scheduling and messaging assisted; live ship decisions stay human. | 35% AI helps |
| Oversee construction and testing of prototype in model basin and develop sectional and waterline curves of hull to establish center of gravity, ideal hull form, and buoyancy and stability data. Software speeds hull curve math; model basin testing is physical. | 35% AI helps |
| Perform monitoring activities to ensure that ships comply with international regulations and standards for life-saving equipment and pollution preventatives. Document review aids compliance checks; physical inspection stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Design and oversee testing, installation, and repair of marine apparatus and equipment. Design support helps; on-site installation oversight is physical. | 30% AI helps |
| Confer with research personnel to clarify or resolve problems and to develop or modify designs. Meetings need live judgement; AI can summarize research and options. | 30% AI helps |
| Maintain and coordinate repair of marine machinery and equipment for installation on vessels. Repair coordination assisted; the repair work itself is physical. | 25% AI helps |
| Conduct environmental, operational, or performance tests on marine machinery and equipment. Testing running machinery needs physical instrumentation and presence. | 18% Needs a person |
| Check, test, and maintain automatic controls and alarm systems. Hands-on testing of physical controls and alarms dominates. | 15% Needs a person |
| Evaluate performance of craft during dock and sea trials to determine design changes and conformance with national and international standards. On-water trials need physical presence and live observation. | 15% Needs a person |
| Inspect marine equipment and machinery to draw up work requests and job specifications. Physical inspection of machinery needs hands-on presence. | 15% Needs a person |
| Investigate and observe tests on machinery and equipment for compliance with standards. Witnessing physical tests on site needs human presence. | 15% Needs a person |
| Evaluate operation of marine equipment during acceptance testing and shakedown cruises. Shipboard acceptance testing needs physical presence and judgement. | 12% Needs a person |
| Supervise other engineers and crew members and train them for routine and emergency duties. Supervising crew and emergency training needs in-person leadership. | 12% Needs a person |
How marine engineers compare
All jobs (923)
Architecture and engineering (56)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $112,230 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 8,250 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +6.7% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Check MATLAB stability and vibration results before sign-off
- Review AutoCAD and Rhinoceros 3D drawings before approval
- Check estimates and schedules built in Microsoft Project
- Witness sea trials and shakedown cruises in person
- Inspect machinery on site and write job specifications
- Hold a flag-state marine engineer certificate of competency
Safer roles nearby
5 related jobs with lower scores.
Questions about marine engineers and AI
Will AI replace marine engineers?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly keeping expense and maintenance records and drafting technical reports. Work that stays with people includes sea trials, machinery inspection, and crew training for emergencies.
Which marine engineer tasks will AI take over?
Maintaining expense and equipment repair records comes first, with an exposure score of 75. Logging them is routine digital work. Preparing technical reports follows at 72, since drafting from engineering data suits language models well. Stability and structural analyses score 55, but simulation software runs them and the engineer still interprets the results.
Which marine engineer tasks stay human?
Acceptance testing and shakedown cruises stay human because they need physical presence and judgment aboard the vessel. Inspecting machinery to write work requests also needs hands-on presence on site. Supervising crew and training them for emergency duties needs in-person leadership.
How can marine engineers stay valuable on the job?
Move your time toward review, testing, and crew leadership. Check every AutoCAD and Rhinoceros 3D drawing before approval, and verify MATLAB stability results against your calculations. Attend sea trials and machinery inspections in person, and keep your certificate of competency current.
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