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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Sailors and Marine Oilers?
Task-level automation exposure for Sailors and Marine Oilers: 24 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
19%
weighted task index
24 of 24 tasks scored
Median Salary
$51,520 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
31,670 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+3.2%
employment change
3,600 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 36 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$23,960 – $76,140
Highest medians
Hawaii $76,140
New Jersey $71,880
Oregon $70,410
Washington $66,700
Alaska $63,130
Lowest medians
Arkansas $23,960
Virgin Islands $29,990
Puerto Rico $30,700
Georgia $37,500
Pennsylvania $38,810
State figures come from the 53-5011 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 19%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 67%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 12%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 8%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 51/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
24 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 9%
2 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 4%
1 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 87%
21 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 08/2026 · Incumbent
Coordinate and direct the arrival and departure of shipping traffic.
Constituent Tasks
#14457 · Core · 70% automatable
Maintain government-issued certifications, as required.
information retrieval — AI supports study; certification requires human
Maintain professional knowledge or certifications.
#14461 · Core · 6% automatable
Handle lines to moor vessels to wharfs, to tie up vessels to other vessels, or to rig towing lines.
physical manipulation — Mooring lines handled by hand on deck
Secure watercraft to docks, wharves or other vessels.
#14462 · Core · 30% automatable
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.
situated mobility — Hazard detection in surroundings needs embodied sensing
Monitor surroundings to detect potential hazards.
#14469 · Core · 8% automatable
Splice and repair ropes, wire cables, or cordage, using marlinespikes, wire cutters, twine, and hand tools.
physical manipulation — Physical maintenance of material moving equipment
Maintain material moving equipment in good working condition.
#14465 · Core · 9% automatable
Operate, maintain, or repair ship equipment, such as winches, cranes, derricks, or weapons system.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment. Maintain watercraft engines or machinery. Maintain material moving equipment in good working condition.
#14472 · Core · 10% automatable
Sweep, mop, and wash down decks to remove oil, dirt, and debris, using brooms, mops, brushes, and hoses.
physical manipulation — Cleaning vessels requires hands-on physical labor
Clean vessels or marine equipment.
#14467 · Core · 8% automatable
Lubricate machinery, equipment, or engine parts, such as gears, shafts, or bearings.
physical manipulation — Hands-on marine engine maintenance
Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14473 · Core · 10% automatable
Chip and clean rust spots on decks, superstructures, or sides of ships, using wire brushes and hand or air chipping machines.
physical manipulation — Cleaning vessels requires hands-on physical labor
Clean vessels or marine equipment.
#14471 · Core · 10% automatable
Paint or varnish decks, superstructures, lifeboats, or sides of ships.
physical manipulation — Painting surfaces is hands-on manual work
Paint surfaces or equipment.
#14470 · Core · 8% automatable
Provide engineers with assistance in repairing or adjusting machinery.
physical manipulation — Hands-on marine engine maintenance
Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14458 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Lower and man lifeboats when emergencies occur.
situated mobility — Assisting during emergencies requires physical presence
Assist others during emergencies.
#14460 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Steer ships under the direction of commanders or navigating officers or direct helmsmen to steer, following designated courses.
situated mobility — Vessel operation requires real-world navigation and control
Operate ships or other watercraft.
#14482 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Tie barges together into tow units for tugboats to handle, inspecting barges periodically during voyages and disconnecting them when destinations are reached.
visual inspection — Physical inspection of moving equipment
Inspect material-moving equipment to detect problems. Secure watercraft to docks, wharves or other vessels.
#14464 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Overhaul lifeboats or lifeboat gear and lower or raise lifeboats with winches or falls.
physical manipulation — Physical lifting and loading of shipments
Load shipments, belongings, or materials.
#14476 · Supplemental · 20% automatable
Examine machinery to verify specified pressures or lubricant flows.
visual inspection — Hands-on verification of equipment functioning
Inspect equipment to ensure proper functioning.
#14479 · Supplemental · 13% automatable
Attach hoses and operate pumps to transfer substances to and from liquid cargo tanks.
physical manipulation — Physical control of pumping equipment
Connect hoses to equipment or machinery. Control pumps or pumping equipment.
#14475 · Supplemental · 56% automatable
Read pressure and temperature gauges or displays and record data in engineering logs.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Monitor equipment gauges or displays to ensure proper operation. Record operational or production data.
#20935 · Supplemental · 82% automatable
Record data in ships' logs, such as weather conditions or distances traveled.
text generation — Record travel operational details from provided info
Record operational details of travel.
#14468 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Break out, rig, and stow cargo-handling gear, stationary rigging, or running gear.
physical manipulation — Rigging and physical setup
Set up material handling gear or equipment, such as rigging, packaging, or temporary structures.
#20934 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Load or unload materials, vehicles, or passengers from vessels.
physical manipulation — Physical lifting and loading of shipments
Load shipments, belongings, or materials.
#14480 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Maintain a ship's engines under the direction of the ship's engineering officers.
physical manipulation — Hands-on marine engine maintenance
Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14477 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Measure depth of water in shallow or unfamiliar waters, using leadlines, and telephone or shout depth information to vessel bridges.
physical manipulation — Hands-on depth/level measurement in field
Measure the level or depth of water or other liquids.
#14474 · Supplemental · 25% automatable
Give directions to crew members engaged in cleaning wheelhouses or quarterdecks.
physical manipulation — Directing repair activities requires hands-on site oversight
Direct maintenance or repair activities.
#14484 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Clean and polish wood trim, brass, or other metal parts.
physical manipulation — Cleaning vessels requires hands-on physical labor
Clean vessels or marine equipment.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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