This article explores Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) through the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework to identify strategies for creating a market for this emerging technology. It examines the current state of TIS components for MASS and the factors shaping their development. Through a literature review and expert interviews, the article highlights key barriers, particularly the cost-benefit ratio, and suggests niche strategies to address barriers. Proposed strategies include the top niche strategy, lead user strategy, and hybridization niche strategy, aimed at overcoming challenges and facilitating broader market adoption of MASS in the future.

This article analyses current developments in Autonomous Shipping (MASS) by adopting a socio-technical system perspective to explain why the technology is (still) only applied in small-scale niche applications and still not applied on a large scale. Using literature study and an exploratory research approach to obtain in-depth information from naval practitioners and experts in the (autonomous) shipping industry we identify which factors currently stimulate or hamper the diffusion of autonomous shipping.An analysis of the Technological Innovation System (TIS) of the maritime industry shows that the 'standard' building blocks framework requires adjustment with regard to the market building block to make it applicable to analyze and understand developments in and motives and drivers of Autonomous Shipping. A subsequent analysis of the current status of the maritime-specific market building blocks showed these were to a large extent complete, with the exception of cost-benefit aspects. This result shows that large-scale diffusion is primarily hampered by this issue and cannot easily be resolved in the foreseeable future.