Key investment opportunities in autonomous shipbuilding market

Companies should capitalise on the advancing autonomous maritime technologies.

As the global market for autonomous ships is set to grow by 9.1% between 2023 and 2032, here are several investment opportunities that companies to take advantage of.

According to Roland Berger’s “Autonomous and uncrewed vessels: A new wave of opportunity,” one of the opportunities in the industry is the creation of autonomous port infrastructure.

“After autonomising ships, the next step will be to autonomise harbour equipment, such as cranes and battery chargers,” the report said.

It also highlighted the increasing importance of artificial intelligence in the industry, along with connectivity and sensors. All will be in demand to operate autonomous vessels and ports.

Since autonomous ships operate with minimal to no human intervention onboard, security is vital. Shipbuilders will need to secure software expertise, which can be done through partnerships between hardware and software companies.

Another technology gaining more attention is electric propulsion systems.

“Electric vessels offer improved manoeuvrability and a smaller environmental footprint,” Roland Berger said.

Players that can provide propulsion or other key systems can capitalise on the autonomy trend, the report said.