AI exposure: Sailors and Marine Oilers
Stand watch to look for obstructions in path of vessel, measure water depth, turn wheel on bridge, or use emergency equipment as directed by captain, mate, or pilot. Break out, rig, overhaul, and store cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, and running gear. Perform a variety of maintenance tasks to preserve the painted surface of the ship and to maintain line and ship equipment. Must hold government-issued certification and tankerman certification when working aboard liquid-carrying vessels. Includes able seamen and ordinary seamen.
Reading this score
computedSailors and Marine Oilers is among the least exposed occupations measured, at 7.5% of weighted task load, rank 838 of 923. 87.4% of this job is work current AI systems cannot produce at all. That is not a statement about skill or value. It is a statement about what these systems can and cannot do.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 24 tasks it averages 2.67 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Record data in ships' logs, at 80.0%. The least is Clean and polish wood trim, brass, or other metal parts, at 0.0%. A gap of 80.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within transportation and material moving occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 24.3% across the group's 52 roles, with 49 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 24 tasks, 2 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 21 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 0.65 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.67 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.85 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.81 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.10 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.21 | 0-3 |
Task by task
24 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record data in ships' logs, such as weather conditions or distances traveled. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.73 | exposed |
| Read pressure and temperature gauges or displays and record data in engineering logs. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.89 | exposed |
| Measure depth of water in shallow or unfamiliar waters, using leadlines, and telephone or shout depth information to vessel bridges. | 20.0% | 5.0% | 75.0% | 3.36 | untouched |
| Give directions to crew members engaged in cleaning wheelhouses or quarterdecks. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 2.99 | assisted |
| Attach hoses and operate pumps to transfer substances to and from liquid cargo tanks. | 17.5% | 7.5% | 75.0% | 3.89 | untouched |
| Maintain government-issued certifications, as required. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 4.51 | untouched |
| Examine machinery to verify specified pressures or lubricant flows. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 4.02 | untouched |
| Stand watch in ships' bows or bridge wings to look for obstructions in a ship's path or to locate navigational aids, such as buoys or lighthouses. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.29 | untouched |
| Tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically during voyages and disconnecting them when destinations are reached. | 5.4% | 7.1% | 87.5% | 4.13 | untouched |
| Steer ships under the direction of commanders or navigating officers or direct helmsmen to steer, following designated courses. | 3.3% | 21.7% | 75.0% | 4.23 | untouched |
| Handle lines to moor vessels to wharfs, to tie up vessels to other vessels, or to rig towing lines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.42 | untouched |
| Splice and repair ropes, wire cables, or cordage, using marlinespikes, wire cutters, twine, and hand tools. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.87 | untouched |
| Operate, maintain, or repair ship equipment, such as winches, cranes, derricks, or weapons system. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.52 | untouched |
| Sweep, mop, and wash down decks to remove oil, dirt, and debris, using brooms, mops, brushes, and hoses. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.47 | untouched |
| Lubricate machinery, equipment, or engine parts, such as gears, shafts, or bearings. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.44 | untouched |
| Chip and clean rust spots on decks, superstructures, or sides of ships, using wire brushes and hand or air chipping machines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.21 | untouched |
| Paint or varnish decks, superstructures, lifeboats, or sides of ships. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.13 | untouched |
| Provide engineers with assistance in repairing or adjusting machinery. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.03 | untouched |
| Lower and man lifeboats when emergencies occur. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.31 | untouched |
| Overhaul lifeboats or lifeboat gear and lower or raise lifeboats with winches or falls. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.07 | untouched |
| Break out, rig, and stow cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, or running gear. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.71 | untouched |
| Load or unload materials, vehicles, or passengers from vessels. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.64 | untouched |
| Maintain a ship's engines under the direction of the ship's engineering officers. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.57 | untouched |
| Clean and polish wood trim, brass, or other metal parts. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.66 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean. 1 task(s) lacked a usable O*NET weight and are shown but excluded from the weighting.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.