UK AI Exposure · Associate professional occupations
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
- - -
Higher exposure than 82% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means
A handful of tasks in this role are touchable by AI, mostly around paperwork, scheduling and basic writing. The shape of the role stays the same - some parts just get faster.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try an LLM on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT can already do for admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the dividend.
A handful of tasks in this role are touchable by AI, mostly around paperwork, scheduling and basic writing. The shape of the role stays the same - some parts just get faster.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try an LLM on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT can already do for admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the dividend.
Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role
These are the highest-importance tasks a language model can already handle directly today. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these, so they stop eating your 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 highest-importance tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around these — usually the difference between an LLM that can technically 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 wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →
The full task breakdown
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can already do unaided versus what still needs a human. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.
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.
Where humans still hold the line
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.
Where humans still hold the line
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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Methodology
This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.
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