All occupations › Transportation & material movingCan AI Replace Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels in 2026? Lower exposure. AI could handle about 29% of today's captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels tasks by 2036, and there is a 12% chance the number of jobs falls by a fifth or more. AI mostly assists people in this role.
See how not to be replaced
Timeline Year 2030 Chance of 20%+ fewer jobs
9% 2030 · 12% 2036
One person could cover, 2036
1.2 roles
0% 50% 100% 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036 2026: 13% 2027: 13% 2028: 14% 2029: 16% 2030: 18% 2031: 21% 2032: 23% 2033: 25% 2034: 27% 2035: 28% 2036: 29% 18% Share of today's tasks AI can perform 40 80 120 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036 2026: 100 2027: 100 2028: 99 2029: 99 2030: 98 2031: 98 2032: 97 2033: 97 2034: 96 2035: 96 2036: 96 98 Headcount index, 2025 = 100 (dashed line) Your survival map Not every part of your job is at the same risk. Tap a number to see what to do about each task.
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Tap a number on the map or a task below.
1 Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards. 2 Prevent ships under navigational control from engaging in unsafe operations. 3 Serve as a vessel's docking master upon arrival at a port or at a berth. 4 Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts. 5 Consult maps, charts, weather reports, or navigation equipment to determine and direct ship movements. 6 Purchase supplies or equipment. 7 Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations. 8 Maintain records of daily activities, personnel reports, ship positions and movements, ports of call, weather and sea conditions, pollution control efforts, or cargo or… 9 Report to appropriate authorities any violations of federal or state pilotage laws. 10 Advise ships' masters on harbor rules and customs procedures. Your plan Ticks are saved in this browser only.
Try an AI tool on one task you'd normally do by hand: "Operate ship-to-shore radios to exchange information needed for ship operations". Learn one AI tool well enough to show it in an interview, for: "Calculate sightings of land, using electronic sounding devices and following contour lines on charts". Get visibly better at your human core: "Direct courses and speeds of ships, based on specialized knowledge of local winds, weather, water depths, tides, currents, and hazards". Rewrite the top of your CV around judgment, people and decisions, not routine output. Based on 30 O*NET tasks for "Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels" (SOC 53-5021.00). LLM alone: 20% of tasks; with AI tools: 33%. Projections are a model, not official statistics. How we calculate this · Data version 2026-10
