A Discrete Choice Analysis of Port Stakeholders on Emerging Challenges of Autonomous Shipping for Ports

This study primarily focuses on determining and evaluating emerging issues needing to be addressed by port stakeholders regarding the commercial use of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) in the maritime transport chain. These issues not only include operational challenges but also transformative influences from the perspective of port stakeholders. Comprehension of existing technological adaptation choice drivers of stakeholders is important to allocate limited technology and innovation resources of the ports appropriately to gain competitive advantages in return. In this study, a discrete choice analysis model is utilised as an examination tool to evaluate likert scale based choices of the port stakeholders for technological adaptation regarding the challenges generated by MASS use in the port area. The data of the model is collected by a survey questionnaire with valuable participation of responders from port stakeholders including port authorities, shipowners, academics and industrial researchers, as well as other major stakeholders. In line with the purpose of this study, detailed analyses are conducted by using the aforementioned methodological tool based on the data obtained from the elaboration of the survey questionnaires distributed to the target groups. By utilising the outputs of the model, results are generated to investigate the challenges in adaptive development of ports. The results of this study particularly provide an overview of the emerging ship-port communication interoperability challenges with the use of MASS in the shipping industry. As a consequence, the practical outcomes of this study are anticipated to develop successful technology and innovation resource management implementation of ports for effective use of MASS in the port area.