ICMAR NAV 2023: Editor's Preface

This volume contains the papers presented at ICMAR NAV 2023: International Conference on Maritime Autonomy & Remote Navigation held on November 27-30, 2023 in Launceston.

The inaugural International Conference on Maritime Autonomy and Remote Navigation (ICMAR-NAV) 2023 was organized by AMCSearch in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia from 27-30 Nov 2023. This seminal conference was the first event of its kind to bring together academia, industry, and maritime authority on one platform to drive forward autonomy in the maritime industry. The conference sought to build on synergies between the disparate sides and promote discussion on the breakthroughs, challenges, and the progression of autonomy in the maritime industry.

The maritime industry forms the backbone of the global supply chains, with over 90% of all trade carried by the sea. As the world increasingly embraces Industry 4.0, all aspects of life, work, and industries are impacted.  The implementation of Industry 4.0 in the maritime domain is progressing the shipping industry toward autonomy and Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). The ICMAR-NAV 2023 is positioned at the forefront of debates in future shipping operations. The conference proceedings of ICMAR-NAV 2023 is the first volume in the series. It contains academic research papers presented at the technical sessions of the conference. In addition to the industry and regulatory speakers, many abstracts in the niche area of maritime autonomy were received for the conference. The double-blind peer review process facilitated the inclusion of twelve submissions in the proceedings. The papers are grouped by thematic categories - MASS Training; MASS Regulation; Technology & Design; Human Factors; Autonomous Navigation Systems; Operation of Autonomous and Remotely Operated Vessels, and Defence ApplicationsThe papers accepted for publication in the proceedings relate meaningfully to the conference themes.

We hope that papers, included in the proceedings, will support the cause of autonomous systems and autonomy in the maritime industry. We are thankful to all authors who submitted their papers and shared their research at the conference. We express our gratitude to the reviewers, the session chairs, and the ICMAR-NAV 2023 supporting team who immensely contributed to the success of the Conference. Last but not least, we express our heartfelt gratitude to AMC Search, AMC, and the C-HELM research group for supporting the successful organisation and conduct of ICMAR-NAV 2023.  We hope that the experience shared at ICMAR-NAV 2023, will contribute to furthering autonomy in the maritime industry. 

Editor-in-chief – Dr. Gholam Reza Emad

Editors – Dr. Gholam Reza Emad and Aditi Kataria

Head of Reviewing Committee – Dr. Samrat Ghosh

Reviewers – Sarat Kumar Narayanan, Mehrangiz Shahbakhsh, Hevi Kurnia Hardini, and Asanka Rajapakse

Acknowledgments:I would like to express my personal gratitude to the ICMAR NAV 2023 organising committee Chris White and Nicholas Bonser and the amazing support team Estelle Hudson, Lindsey Steers, Kate Wallace, and Jake Veldums.

Dr G. Reza Emad, Academic Lead and Head of the Scientific Committee