The President of the Female Seafarers Association of Nigeria (FESAN), Ms. Koni Duniya, has said that shipping automation will not constitute a threat to seafaring.

Duniya disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

She said that in spite of the automation, there was still a need for human interface in the shipping business.

“Seafaring is peculiar and interesting but there is a need for that touch and feel which the computer cannot replace."

“Human beings are so diverse in their thinking that once something is presented to them, they are thinking in different directions while the computer would be thinking in the direction it had been programmed."

“So, whether we like it or not, we need that human interface. Automation of shipping is good and brilliant, we welcome it, but I don’t see it replacing human beings anytime close by,” she said.

Duniya noted that some seafarers had been jittering over the ongoing automation in the industry.

She said that automation would not replace seafarers but would help them to improve their work.

“This is because we still need that data feed into whatever system that is automated and we need human beings to feed in that data accurately so that the desired results are gotten,” she said.

The FESAN president also Nigerians to embrace blockchain in the shipping sector to get rid of corruption and fraud.

She said that it would help in creating a more efficient global shipping system.

“During my seafaring days, I traveled globally and in the ports of the developed nations, there are no papers and no documents to process."

“You send your full document ahead of time and everything is done electronically."

“That is a digital age; they have been at it and blockchain has taken it to the next level. Blockchain makes everything convenient with a click of a button."

“It is a game changer and Nigeria should not be left behind,’’ Duniya said.