Page 93 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - MARTIOS 2023

SMART SHIPPING

tage of their size, smaller companies The shipping industry’s efforts to secure
should consider outsourcing, collabora- the data and the operation of electronic
tions, and joint ventures. equipment on board ships from cyber
attacks should be backed by global reg-
Cyberspace threats seem to be troubling the ulations and prevention policies that will
maritime industry members, given their scep- be applied to all equipment installed
ticism towards the initiatives governments and on board.
regulatory bodies have taken thus far. What
steps will ensure the safety of both crews and New technologies are expected to alter the nec-
vessels in the digitalised future of shipping? essary skills set a seafarer should have. Does
Cyber security is not a matter that con- this refer mainly to their general familiarity with
cerns only the shipping industry. Instead, technology, or are there explicit skills that will
it is an issue that needs to be addressed be deemed essential for seafarers in the future?
by governments and regulators on a The successful implementation of new
global, regional, and national level. technology on ships should make them
The increasing automation and digitisa- safer and simpler to handle, which
tion of ships have made them vulnera- means that technology will have failed if
ble to cyber attacks, so they should be future vessels become so complex that
adequately protected. crews cannot operate them.
Best practices and procedures guide- The captains, chief engineers, officers,
lines are publicly available. However, and crews of ships are not just gradu-
the actual measures to be implemented ates of a school. They all need exten-
should take into account the specific sive sea-going experience and training
design and needs of each vessel and in order to obtain a licence and under-
company and company. take new duties.
The measures and hardware used to The work on board a ship is demand-
harden a vessel against cyber attacks ing, hard, and challenging. However, the
should not affect the proper function- majority of seafarers have developed
ing of its systems. All functions and exceptional skills for dealing with unex-
user-friendly operations should be pected situations.
maintained. Selecting the correct pro- In general, old-generation systems are
cedures and preparing a cybersecurity harder to operate. For example, anchor-
management plan should be undertaken ing a ship using traditional windlasses
by specialised consultants. Proper cyber and manually handling all the related
risk assessment will identify threats and equipment requires an experienced
risks. The interference of the cyberse- and skilled crew. New technologies
curity system with the safe operations are expected to simplify and automate
of the ship’s procedures and other sys- many traditional procedures.
tems should be considered and avoided. Digital innovations include self-diagno-
Actions against a potential cyber attack sis systems, automatic sequencing for
should not compromise established the operation of different equipment,
security rules and practices. and remote-control systems. Many of
In addition to implementing meas- these are already applied in our daily
ures, a disaster recovery and business life, and we use them without special
continuity plan should be prepared to training. Seafarer training should be
determine how the ship and company updated to cover the new technology
will respond to a cyber security incident. so that the crews of future ships do not
Shipping companies and ships imple- face difficulties in operating them.
ment multiple layers of defence against New design ships will require special-
cyber attacks. However, it is crucial ised crews with special training and
that shipyards examine cyber risks and experience. Future ships will be safer
ensure that appropriate security systems and easier to handle by design, but
are incorporated at the design stage. nothing can prevent unexpected situ-
Furthermore, makers of marine equip- ations. Therefore, crews must be highly
ment should provide adequate hard- skilled, combining knowledge of new
ening of their equipment against cyber technologies and traditional seamanship.
attacks.

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