[QUOTE=johnny.dollar;181146]Said this in another thread:
Somebody will have to fix the machinery and keep it running. So engineers will be needed.
Somebody will have to do the paper work and deal with the entropy of modern government and regulation. mates and A/E?!? will be needed
And I bet, at many points, somebody will still have to ensure the damn thing doesn’t run into stuff (and avoid navee ships). Deck will still be needed.
[B]And lastly, somebody will always be on the ship for the corp suit monkeys to blame when the shit hits the fan. Captain still needed. [/B][/QUOTE]
The plan is to shift tasks shoreside. For example the plan is for an officer to be controlling the ship from ashore, same as a drone pilot. Presumably he would be responsible for any mishap.
Engine rooms today go ummanned for 12 hrs or more. The engine room of an unmaned ship would have far few systems. They will need to run ummanned for how long? Twenty or thirty days at most?
I’m not saying it can be or should be done but money is being spend and it’s being worked on by some smart people so presumably there has been at least some thought put into it.