Ship and hovercraft officers
Ship and hovercraft officers command and navigate ships and other craft, co-ordinate the activities of officers and deck and engine room ratings, operate and maintain communications equipment on board ship and undertake minor repairs to engines, boilers and other mechanical and electrical equipment.
- Employees (UK)
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- Median annual pay
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- Exposure score ?
- 2.0/10 Low 3.2/10 Low strict reading, with tools is 3.2/10 with-tools reading, strict is 2.0/10
- Wage exposure
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Higher exposure than 82% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
A few tasks in this role are within reach of AI, mostly paperwork, scheduling and routine writing. The shape of the role stays the same, and some parts get faster.
If you are in this role
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try a model on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT already does with admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the gain.
A few tasks in this role are within reach of AI, mostly paperwork, scheduling and routine writing. The shape of the role stays the same, and some parts get faster.
If you are in this role
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try a model on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT already does with admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the gain.
Where the work usually starts.
These are the most important tasks a language model can already handle directly. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around them, so they stop eating the team's time.
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Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
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Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
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Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
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Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
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Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels" (53-5021.00).
What AI can already do
6 of 30 tasks, unaided
Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status.
Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures.
Learn to operate new technology systems and procedures through instruction, simulators, or models.
Assign watches or living quarters to crew members.
What still needs a person
24 of 30 tasks
Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.
Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth.
Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses.
Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.
Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way.
Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations.
Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen.
Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations.
Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations.
Signal passing vessels, using whistles, flashing lights, flags, or radios.
Measure depths of water, using depth-measuring equipment.
Signal crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines, open or close gates or ramps, or pull guard chains across entries.
Maintain boats or equipment on board, such as engines, winches, navigational systems, fire extinguishers, or life preservers.
Perform various marine duties, such as checking for oil spills or other pollutants around ports or harbors or patrolling beaches.
Observe loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and storage are performed according to specifications.
Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts.
Direct or coordinate crew members or workers performing activities such as loading or unloading cargo, steering vessels, operating engines, or operating, maintaining, or repairing ship equipment.
Arrange for ships to be fueled, restocked with supplies, or repaired.
Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges.
Purchase supplies or equipment.
Interview and hire crew members.
Conduct safety drills such as man overboard or fire drills.
Tasks via O*NET "Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels" (53-5021.00).
What AI can already do
10 of 30 tasks, with tools
Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements.
Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations.
Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws.
Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or passenger status.
Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures.
Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts.
Learn to operate new technology systems and procedures through instruction, simulators, or models.
Assign watches or living quarters to crew members.
Purchase supplies or equipment.
Interview and hire crew members.
What still needs a person
20 of 30 tasks
Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards.
Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations.
Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth.
Steer and operate vessels, using radios, depth finders, radars, lights, buoys, or lighthouses.
Dock or undock vessels, sometimes maneuvering through narrow spaces, such as locks.
Stand watches on vessels during specified periods while vessels are under way.
Inspect vessels to ensure efficient and safe operation of vessels and equipment and conformance to regulations.
Read gauges to verify sufficient levels of hydraulic fluid, air pressure, or oxygen.
Tow and maneuver barges or signal tugboats to tow barges to destinations.
Provide assistance in maritime rescue operations.
Signal passing vessels, using whistles, flashing lights, flags, or radios.
Measure depths of water, using depth-measuring equipment.
Signal crew members or deckhands to rig tow lines, open or close gates or ramps, or pull guard chains across entries.
Maintain boats or equipment on board, such as engines, winches, navigational systems, fire extinguishers, or life preservers.
Perform various marine duties, such as checking for oil spills or other pollutants around ports or harbors or patrolling beaches.
Observe loading or unloading of cargo or equipment to ensure that handling and storage are performed according to specifications.
Direct or coordinate crew members or workers performing activities such as loading or unloading cargo, steering vessels, operating engines, or operating, maintaining, or repairing ship equipment.
Arrange for ships to be fueled, restocked with supplies, or repaired.
Supervise crews in cleaning or maintaining decks, superstructures, or bridges.
Conduct safety drills such as man overboard or fire drills.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Associate professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons