Challenges and Opportunities in Remote Operations of Automated Passenger Ferries Identified using the CRIOP Method

The launch of MF Estelle, the world's first commercial autonomous passenger ferry, in Stockholm in 2023 has accelerated the need to establish a Remote Operation Centre (ROC) to manage multiple vessels with fewer human supervisors, reducing operational costs. This transition, by technological development and practical insights from MF Estelle's operations, presents significant challenges - particularly in ensuring safety when replacing onboard human operators with remote systems. To address these challenges, the CRIOP method (Crisis Intervention and Operability Analysis) was applied for the first time to a ROC for autonomous ships, emphasizing Human Factors and a Human-Centred Design approach. This paper outlines MF Estelle's current operations, explores potential ROC concepts and development phases, and presents the CRIOP workshop activities. During the workshop, MF Estelle's operator shared his challenges and concerns regarding the ROC. Additionally, the checklist and scenario analysis identified key issues, including (1) conducting task analysis to support safer and more human-cantered ROC design and ferry operations, (2) ensuring situational awareness (SA) for ROC operators using tools like alarms and CCTV, (3) designing effective communication between ROC, passengers, and VTS/emergency centres, and (4) mitigating critical scenarios such as fires on the ferry, fires in the ROC, and high-traffic collisions through robust design, training, and organizational measures. Finally, the paper proposes recommendations for human factor engineering and design to mitigate these challenges and support the safe and reliable operation of autonomous ferries. Key human factors questions addressed include: (1) Who will the remote operators be, and what will their responsibilities entail? (2) How will passengers be managed when the vessel is unmanned? (3) How will ROC operations handle emergencies or dangerous situations?

Keywords: CRIOP workshop, Safety, Human factors, Meaningful human control, Autonomous urban passenger ferry, Remote operation centre.