Two new reports from OneOcean and Thetius have found that seafarer training is failing to keep pace with the rapid spread of digital technologies aboard ships, with an overwhelming majority of maritime professionals saying current programmes are insufficient for modern operations.
Eighty two per cent of maritime professionals surveyed told researchers that existing training does not adequately prepare crews for the realities of modern, digitally enabled vessel operations. Just 18 per cent said training keeps pace with those changes, according to the studies reported on 23 October 2026.
The research, produced by OneOcean and Thetius, frames the gap as a broad competency shortfall rather than a single technical deficiency. The reports describe a widening divide between the skills crews are taught and the demands encountered on board when digital systems are in place.
Survey respondents were identified in the research as maritime professionals, and their responses underpin the headline figures. The studies make clear that the perception of training inadequacy is widespread across the sample used by the authors.
The reports themselves focus on the relationship between training content and the operational demands of digitally enabled vessels. They present the statistical finding that 82 per cent of respondents see training as inadequate as a central conclusion and record the contrasting figure of 18 per cent who believe training currently keeps pace.
Nature of the competency gap
The published material from OneOcean and Thetius highlights that the gap is characterised by a mismatch between taught competencies and the practical realities of working with advanced on-board systems. The studies present the mismatch as systemic rather than isolated to particular vessel types or technologies.
The research does not offer a single root cause but treats the issue as a composite problem arising from training curricula, delivery methods and the pace of technological change. The reports attribute the widening gap to the rapid acceleration of digitally driven operational practices across the sector.
What the figures show
Taken at face value, the figures indicate a stark consensus among the professionals surveyed. With 82 per cent finding training inadequate and only 18 per cent saying it keeps up, the research portrays a sector where most practitioners consider existing preparation insufficient for contemporary shipboard work.
The OneOcean and Thetius material, as summarised by reports on 23 October 2026, therefore sets out a clear statement of concern from the professional community sampled in the research. The reports underline that the perceived shortfall affects readiness for digitally enabled operations rather than purely conventional seamanship skills.
Those findings will be of interest to shipping companies, training providers, flag administrations and owners as they review how to align seafarer development with technological change. The reports’ emphasis on measurement through professional survey responses supplies a quantitative basis for discussion about training reform.
The research conclusions, as reported, place the spotlight on how training systems must respond to a shifting operational landscape at sea. The studies by OneOcean and Thetius supply a statistical prompt for industry actors to consider whether current approaches to seafarer education and upskilling match the speed and character of digital adoption.
Further detail on the reports’ methodology and any proposed remedies appears in the full documents produced by OneOcean and Thetius and in the report published by reports on 23 October 2026. This coverage will serve as a starting point for those seeking to examine the evidence behind the headline figures and to weigh options for closing the competency gap.
Editor profile