Børge Rokseth

This PhD position at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is part of the Norwegian Maritime AI Centre , led by NTNU and bringing together researchers, industry, and public partners to develop AI applications for the maritime sector. The project focuses on intelligent navigation and risk-based route planning for safer and more sustainable maritime operations. The doctoral work will develop AI methods for navigational situational awareness and decision support, with attention to how maritime data can be used to assess risk and inform route and speed choices under uncertainty. The research is built around two centre use cases. The first concerns AI-driven use of S-100 electronic navigational chart data to identify hazards along a vessel’s path, taking into account vessel position, motion, draught, stopping distance, maneuvering capability, historical AIS tracks, and explainable warnings or recommendations. The second focuses on wind-assisted propulsion , studying how wind and environmental forecasts can support voyage planning and how plans can be adapted when real conditions change. The project links situational assessment with longer-horizon voyage planning, examining how uncertainty in data and forecasts affects navigation and how machine learning can be combined with established vessel-behavior and navigation models. The candidate will work closely with industry and public partners in the centre and participate in its activities, conferences, and possible research stays abroad. The position is supervised by Associate Professor Børge Rokseth in the Department of Engineering Cybernetics , a department focused on automatic control and monitoring of dynamic systems and close collaboration with industry and academia. The broader centre includes many research and user partners across the maritime sector. The appointment is a 3-year PhD position with work in an international and collaborative research environment at NTNU in Trondheim.