Following the launch of the Global Maritime Trends 2050 report, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation commissioned the World Maritime University to contribute to the Deep Dives Project series. The first Deep Dive report focused on seafarer sustainability, aiming to ensure a reliable and diverse pipeline of skilled professionals, with particular attention to challenges faced by women and African seafarers. WMU’s research examined the complex dynamics of seafarer supply and demand, highlighting opportunities to invest in Africa’s emerging talent and to empower women to play a greater role in maritime careers. Completed with the launch of its final report on 27 March 2025, a suite of outputs were delivered, including a summary report, blogs and an IMO Technical Cooperation information paper (TC75/INF.7).
The next Deep Dive report focuses on digital skills for seafarers, building on the momentum of earlier phase to address the urgent need for digital transformation within the maritime sector. The global shipping industry is rapidly transforming through emerging technologies such as IoT, big data, automation and digitalization, creating opportunities to boost efficiency, safety and sustainability while reshaping workforce requirements. This creates an urgency to equip seafarers with modern digital skills to address a looming officer shortage and attract a new generation to the profession. Our study will examine how digital skills are understood and implemented across the industry, with particular attention to Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions and seafarer training programmes at a global scale. The study aims to identify the key digital skills required in the evolving maritime landscape, review current practices in digital skill development and analyze both challenges and enabling factors influencing their adoption. By integrating these findings, the research will generate actionable insights to help prepare a resilient, future-ready maritime workforce capable of navigating the demands of a fast-changing digital environment.
The expected outcomes of the next Deep Dive study are ambitious and far-reaching. The study will:
