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Key determinants for the commercial feasibility of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS)

Ziaul Haque Munim, Theo Notteboom (UGent) , Hercules Haralambides and Halvor Schøyen
(2025) MARINE POLICY. 172.
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Abstract
Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS) technologies have been developing rapidly in the last decade, but the commercial feasibility and implementation potential of MASS for merchant shipping is still unclear. To unleash the full potential of the technological development, this study investigates the feasibility of possible MASS variants for merchant shipping. We design a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework incorporating nine key determinants for MASS adoption. Three MASS variants with different degrees of autonomy and two shipping routes are evaluated. Perspectives of relevant maritime professionals were solicited through a websurvey, and the Bayesian Best-Worst Method (BWM) was used for the analysis of the collected data. We find that navigation anti-collision-anti-grounding systems, cybersecurity risks, and capital costs are the three most important criteria for the commercialization of MASS. The analysis further revealed that degree two MASS for intra-European container trade in the Mediterranean and Baltic using small-sized autonomous feeder vessels is considered as the most feasible for the commercialization of the MASS.
Keywords
Autonomous Shipping, Unmanned vessel, Multi-criteria decision-making, Commercial shipping, Remote Operation Centre, MODEL, PRIORITIZATION, INVESTMENT

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MLA
Munim, Ziaul Haque, et al. “Key Determinants for the Commercial Feasibility of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).” MARINE POLICY, vol. 172, 2025, doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106482.
APA
Munim, Z. H., Notteboom, T., Haralambides, H., & Schøyen, H. (2025). Key determinants for the commercial feasibility of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS). MARINE POLICY, 172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106482
Chicago author-date
Munim, Ziaul Haque, Theo Notteboom, Hercules Haralambides, and Halvor Schøyen. 2025. “Key Determinants for the Commercial Feasibility of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).” MARINE POLICY 172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106482.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Munim, Ziaul Haque, Theo Notteboom, Hercules Haralambides, and Halvor Schøyen. 2025. “Key Determinants for the Commercial Feasibility of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).” MARINE POLICY 172. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106482.
Vancouver
1.
Munim ZH, Notteboom T, Haralambides H, Schøyen H. Key determinants for the commercial feasibility of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS). MARINE POLICY. 2025;172.
IEEE
[1]
Z. H. Munim, T. Notteboom, H. Haralambides, and H. Schøyen, “Key determinants for the commercial feasibility of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS),” MARINE POLICY, vol. 172, 2025.
@article{01JNDPR3RXMKV977E2J602A4PD,
  abstract     = {{Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS) technologies have been developing rapidly in the last decade, but the commercial feasibility and implementation potential of MASS for merchant shipping is still unclear. To unleash the full potential of the technological development, this study investigates the feasibility of possible MASS variants for merchant shipping. We design a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework incorporating nine key determinants for MASS adoption. Three MASS variants with different degrees of autonomy and two shipping routes are evaluated. Perspectives of relevant maritime professionals were solicited through a websurvey, and the Bayesian Best-Worst Method (BWM) was used for the analysis of the collected data. We find that navigation anti-collision-anti-grounding systems, cybersecurity risks, and capital costs are the three most important criteria for the commercialization of MASS. The analysis further revealed that degree two MASS for intra-European container trade in the Mediterranean and Baltic using small-sized autonomous feeder vessels is considered as the most feasible for the commercialization of the MASS.}},
  articleno    = {{106482}},
  author       = {{Munim, Ziaul Haque and Notteboom, Theo and Haralambides, Hercules and Schøyen, Halvor}},
  issn         = {{0308-597X}},
  journal      = {{MARINE POLICY}},
  keywords     = {{Autonomous Shipping,Unmanned vessel,Multi-criteria decision-making,Commercial shipping,Remote Operation Centre,MODEL,PRIORITIZATION,INVESTMENT}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{13}},
  title        = {{Key determinants for the commercial feasibility of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS)}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106482}},
  volume       = {{172}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}
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