What will it be like to be a pilot in 2050?

The unique knowledge of the pilot cannot fully be shown on a map or a screen

The technological development has given the pilot access to increasingly advanced digital tools. But still, it is the knowledge of local conditions that is the most important, and so it will be in the foreseeable future.

The pilot has an important role to play in the prevention of accidents at sea, and in the future maritime traffic will most certainly increase. We will probably see autonomous ships navigated by remote control, and at the same time we will be confronted with an increase in extreme weather because of climate change.

To protect maritime safety, it will be a challenge to unite the best from the analogue knowledge of educated pilots with the possibilities given by the digital development.

The size of ships will probably continue to grow, and although many advanced operations with large vessels would be unthinkable without digital navigation technology, the highly specialised knowledge of the pilot can still mark the difference between success and disaster.

The detailed knowledge of local conditions, tides, currents and winds, and the inherited bearings that keeps you safe between skerries and shoals, cannot be found on any map. This knowledge of the landscape, both above and below the surface, has been passed on through generations. And no matter how advanced our technology for navigation and geo-positioning might be, we still need assurance that our virtual world corresponds with reality.

All technology can fail. GPS-signals, electronic charts and other remedies can be inaccurate or fall out completely. But with a pilot at the wheel, a safe course may still be found through darkness, rain, or snow.
Nobody knows what the future may bring. But we know that technological innovation will play an important part in the never-ending work to increase safety and prevent hazards at sea.

The pilots and their organisation take an active part in this development, but it still seems almost impossible to improve the level of maritime security in inshore waters by replacing a well-educated and experienced pilot with digital technology or artificial intelligence alone.