Will ship captains be replaced by AI?
Updated
Ship captains score 26 of 100 for AI exposure. 62% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 3% today and speed up another 35%.
- 3% AI can do it
- 35% AI helps
- 62% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 69% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 30 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 11 and leaves 18 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status. Logs and reports are largely auto-populated from ship systems and drafted. | 75% AI can do it |
| Purchase supplies or equipment. Supplier research and ordering are digital, delivery and inspection are not. | 55% AI helps |
| Arrange for ships to be fueled, restocked with supplies, or repaired. Vendor coordination and scheduling are digital, but physical service remains. | 50% AI helps |
| Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws. Violation reports are written documents AI can draft and format. | 45% AI helps |
| Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures. Harbor rules and customs lookups are informational, but advice is situational. | 45% AI helps |
| Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements. Software already aids charts and weather; human still directs movements. | 40% AI helps |
| Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts. Electronic charts compute fixes; mariner still confirms visual sightings. | 40% AI helps |
| Learn to operate new technology systems and procedures through instruction, simulators, or models. AI tutors can aid learning, but simulator practice stays hands-on. | 40% AI helps |
| Assign watches or living quarters to crew members. Watch and berth schedules can be drafted, but captain approves assignments. | 40% AI helps |
| Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations. Radio exchanges are spoken and live, with limited AI assistance. | 30% AI helps |
Show the other 20 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards. Local weather and current data help, but live judgment stays with pilot. | 25% AI helps |
| Interview and hire crew members. AI can screen resumes, but interviews need live human judgment. | 25% AI helps |
| Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations. Physical inspection of vessel equipment needs in-person checking. | 15% Needs a person |
| Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations. Real-time safety supervision on the bridge needs live human judgment. | 12% Needs a person |
| Direct or coordinate crew members or workers performing activities such as loading or unloading cargo, steering vessels, operating engines, or operating, maintaining, or repairing ship equipment. Live crew leadership during cargo and engine operations is physical. | 12% Needs a person |
| Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way. Watchkeeping requires physical presence and live monitoring at sea. | 10% Needs a person |
| Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen. Reading physical gauges on board requires someone present aboard. | 10% Needs a person |
| Measure depths of water, using depth-measuring equipment. Depth measurement needs equipment deployed and operated on site. | 10% Needs a person |
| Observe loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and storage are performed according to specifications. Observing cargo handling on the dock is physical supervision. | 10% Needs a person |
| Conduct safety drills such as man overboard or fire drills. Drill planning is easy to assist, but execution is physical and in person. | 10% Needs a person |
| Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth. Docking master role is hands-on, live maneuvering at berth. | 8% Needs a person |
| Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses. Physically steering vessel at the helm is not AI-removable. | 8% Needs a person |
| Signal passing vessels, using whistles, flashing lights, flags, or radios. Signaling with whistles, lights, and flags is manual on-deck work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Perform various marine duties, such as checking for oil spills or other pollutants around ports or harbors or patrolling beaches. Spill checks and beach patrols require in-person observation outdoors. | 8% Needs a person |
| Maintain boats or equipment on board, such as engines, winches, navigational systems, fire extinguishers, or life preservers. Hands-on maintenance of engines, winches, and safety gear on board. | 6% Needs a person |
| Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks. Physical docking through locks requires hands-on vessel handling. | 5% Needs a person |
| Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations. Rescue work is physical, urgent, and requires people on scene. | 5% Needs a person |
| Signal crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines, open or close gates or ramps, or pull guard chains across entries. Directing crew physically to rig lines and operate gates. | 5% Needs a person |
| Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges. Supervising physical deck cleaning and maintenance crews on site. | 5% Needs a person |
| Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations. Towing and maneuvering barges is physical vessel handling. | 5% Needs a person |
How ship captains compare
All occupations (923)
Transportation and material moving (52)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $92,460 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 36,850 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +4.0% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Keep the USCG master license current through renewal
- Write voyage and incident logs in KNMI TurboWin
- Dock and undock vessels through locks in person
- Review pilotage violation reports before filing with authorities
- Build fuel and provision budgets in Microsoft Excel
- Schedule repairs and supplier deliveries in CMMS
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about ship captains and AI
Will AI replace ship captains?
Partly. About 2 in 10 of a ship captain's working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly keeping logs and purchasing supplies. Docking, rescue work, and towing stay with people because they need hands on the vessel and crew on site.
Which ship captain tasks is AI taking over?
Maintaining daily logs and reports scores 75 on exposure, the highest in the job, because ship systems auto-populate position, weather, and cargo data. Purchasing supplies or equipment scores 55 because supplier research and ordering already run digitally, though delivery and inspection still need a person.
Which ship captain tasks stay human?
Docking or undocking through locks, assisting maritime rescue, and towing barges each score 5 on exposure, the lowest in the job. Each needs hands on the vessel or people on scene, and no software supplies either.
How can ship captains stay valuable?
Keep the USCG master license current, because the job requires it to command. Lead docking and lock transits in person, since those tasks score 5 on exposure. Check AI-drafted logs in KNMI TurboWin before signing, and track fuel and provision budgets in Microsoft Excel.
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