The presence of autonomous vessels in short sea shipping is becoming a commercial reality, the Coastlink 2027 conference will be told next April by an expert speaker in the field.
Catrien Scheers is Chair of Fast Lines Belgium and has over 30 years of hands-on experience in short sea shipping, logistics and multimodal supply chains. She is actively involved in Fast’s exploration of remote-assisted short sea shipping, including real-world trials in the North Sea.
In her presentation to the pan-European Coastlink network, Catrien will share practical lessons on what is already possible, where barriers remain, and what needs to change to move from successful trials to scalable commercial operations.
In her abstract she makes the case that short sea shipping is particularly well placed to lead vessel’s digital technology transition to commercial reality.
“My message is simple: remote-assisted shipping should not be pursued because the technology is exciting. It should be pursued where it creates safer operations, more resilient supply chains, better working conditions and a stronger short sea proposition for customers.
“The future may not be a ship without people. It is about smarter ships, with people working differently and technology taking care of what technology does best.”
Hosted by Rotterdam Shortsea Terminals (RST) and the Port of Rotterdam from 14–15 April 2027, the 25th Coastlink Conference will bring together industry leaders, policymakers and logistics experts from across the multimodal logistics and short sea shipping sectors.
Book to take your place at the conference – which is being hosted in the impressive Wereldmuseum in the vibrant heart of Rotterdam – please contact the team at info@coastlink.co.uk
