Shipping
Technology against a lack of staff: ship drives remote controlled
Cameras on all sides and a good mobile phone connection – much more is not necessary to control a large cargo ship. The technology should help the industry against its great personnel worries.
The captain sits in Duisburg, his ship runs 400 kilometers away through a channel near Lüneburg: a six -month test is intended to show whether the technology for the remote control of inland ships is mature. For the first time, the Cologne shipping company HGK Shipping received the approval for the first time to have a ship driving remotely on the Elbe side channel: the “Lower Saxony 2”.
The technology is considered a promising approach to the acute lack of personnel in the industry. While inland boaters have usually been traveling for at least 14 days at a time, the shipperers at the remote control center have a regular office job – and after work, a normal private life would be possible.
“When advertising for qualified workers, this is an effective lever to increase the attractiveness of the job description,” says Steffen Bauer, head of HGK Shipping.
Competitor Rhenus wants to develop his own system
Other companies also pursue such an approach. The Renus shipping company wants to build its own driving level for the remote control of the fleet by 2030, at the same time more and more ships are to be equipped with the necessary technology. “We think that in the future we will create further attractive jobs for our ship leaders,” says Herbert Berger, Managing Director of Rhenus Schiff Management.
Politicians are very interested in the project succeeding. “The fact is that the inland waterway is the only mode of transport with free capacities we have in Germany,” said Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU). The shortage of skilled workers should not slow down this potential.
dpa
Source: Stern
