Artificial intelligence supported automatic speech recognition is being explored as a way to improve very high frequency radio communications during pilotage and towage, where misunderstandings can quickly translate into operational incidents. Ship handling relies on rapid, precise command exchange between the pilot, tug masters, the bridge team, and port or traffic authorities, yet VHF audio quality is often degraded by noise, interference, and bridge distractions that can make critical instructions hard to hear and easy to misinterpret.

 

How ASR Would Change the Workflow on the Bridge

 

The core idea is to use ASR to transcribe VHF communications in real time and display them as text on a screen, creating a written record of instructions and confirmations as they occur. This gives the bridge team and the ship’s captain a second channel of understanding that is less vulnerable to crackling audio and missed words, and it also provides documentation of what was said, which can support incident review and training.

 

The Local Language Gap and Instant Translation

 

A major operational gap highlighted by pilot Mustafa Sokukcu is that tug and pilot communications are often conducted in the local language, while the ship’s captain remains legally responsible for the vessel and may not understand the commands being exchanged. In practice, pilots do not always translate every instruction, which can leave the master without full situational visibility. With multilingual ASR, those local language exchanges could be translated into English and displayed instantly in written form on a tablet or smartphone, giving the captain direct access to the same command stream without relying on ad hoc verbal translation.

 

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What It Could Enable for Standardised English Communications

 

Beyond translating local language traffic, Sokukcu suggests multilingual ASR could support a shift toward conducting tug and pilot communications in English, the common maritime language, while still providing translation support for those who need it. The practical value is consistency and shared understanding, reducing the risk that different teams interpret the same instruction differently because of language barriers, accents, or radio distortion.

 

Remote Pilotage Makes Reliable VHF Even More Critical

 

ASR is also linked to remote pilotage concepts, where a pilot based on shore could guide ship handling into port. This model could reduce the physical risks associated with pilot transfers, which have historically resulted in serious and sometimes fatal accidents. However, remote pilotage would make reliable VHF communication even more central, because the pilot’s guidance would be mediated almost entirely through radio links, increasing the value of transcription and translation as risk controls.

 

Technical Requirements and Next Evidence Points

 

Sokukcu notes that hardware modifications to VHF radios on tugs and ships would be needed to support this functionality, implying the pathway is not purely software deployment. He has tested ASR on VHF communications and plans to publish results in the second half of 2026 through an academic thesis describing data collection, tools used, testing methodology, and success rates. The credibility of the concept will hinge on whether ASR can maintain high accuracy in noisy bridge environments, handle multiple speakers and overlapping transmissions, and deliver translations fast enough to be operationally useful during time-critical manoeuvres.