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evolving so quickly. Experience matters greatly, and there is no shortcut around the need to build competence through practice, knowledge sharing, and the exchange of experiences.The same is true about standards. While shipping should embrace innovation, it must do so with discipline. Standards exist to protect safety, support professionalism, and provide consistency in a global sector where the consequences of poor judgment can be severe. They should evolve where necessary, but with care and with proper regard for operational realities. In maritime safety, faster change does not necessarily equate to a more efficient outcome. Another critical issue is whose voice is heard in these conversations. There is sometimes a tendency for the perspectives of designers, vendors, managers, and regulators to dominate the conversation around innovation, while the experience of those on board is treated as something to be gathered later, if at all. That is a mistake. If safety is to remain the priority, seafarers%u2019 voices cannot be an afterthought in technology development; they must be considered at the starting point. For technology to deliver real benefits, it is essential to understand how it is experienced in practice by the people using it every day. We need to know where it genuinely helps, where it creates friction, how it affects workload and fatigue, whether it strengthens trust and teamwork, and where unintended consequences may arise that were not apparent at the design stage. This thinking sits behind the Seafarer Technology Engagement, Empowerment and Resilience (STEER) Project, which The Nautical Institute is taking forward with support from the Lloyd%u2019s Register Foundation. The project examines the combined impact of technology and working practices on seafarers%u2019 dayto-day work, safety, skills and welfare, with a clear emphasis on listening to seafarers. The STEER Project moves beyond discussion. It captures the lived experiences of seafarers globally and aims to translate them into practical tools, guidance, and evidence that will inform better design, implementation, and training. If safety is to remain the priority, seafarers%u2019voices cannot be an afterthought in technology development; they must be considered at the starting point. For technology to deliver real benefits, it is essential to understand how it is experienced in practice by the people using it every day.ness, support maintenance planning, strengthen communication, reduce repetitive administrative tasks, and help ship and shore teams operate with better information. At the same time, greater reliance on systems and increased connectivity introduce new vulnerabilities, particularly in terms of cybersecurity. These risks, although not purely technical, intersect directly with human awareness, training, and decision-making under pressure. No system exists in a vacuum. Every new tool changes the environment in which people work, and sometimes the unintended effects are only fully felt after implementation. Workload may shift rather than reduce, cognitive demands may increase, or accountability can become less clear. Greater connectivity can bring real benefits while also creating the sense that shipboard life is becoming increasingly observed, measured, and interrupted. These are realities that leadership must understand if change is to be managed responsibly.For that reason, I do not believe the debate should be framed as people versus technology. The real objective is to ensure that technology supports human performance and strengthens professional judgement. Seafarers assess risk in real time, interpret incomplete information, manage competing demands, and respond when conditions change or systems do not behave as expected. In many respects, the more advanced a system becomes, the more important it is to have confident maritime professionals who can display judgment in a calm and competent manner. This has direct implications for training and standards. Minimum standards remain essential because they provide the foundation for safe practices across an international industry. But in a period of rapid change, the foundation alone is not enough. We also need a culture of continuous learning that reflects the realities of modern operations. Familiarisation must be taken seriously, not treated as a box-ticking exercise. Training must keep pace with the equipment and working practices now found on board. Professional development cannot be seen as something occasional or optional when the operating environment itself is Human factor286 NX