Cargo ships may be completely free of human crew in the future.

This is according to the Financial Times (FT), which argues remote-controlled carriers hold numerous advantages over traditional means.

For instance, the lack of life-supporting facilities will free up space, as well as making them lighter. Currently, the largest transporters can carry 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, but even these ships have areas taken up for non-storage uses.

Speaking to FT, Rolls-Royce's head of marine innovation Oskar Levander said crew expenses can compromise up to 30 per cent of operational costs. In addition to saving fuel, this will make liners much more efficient.

However, the International Chamber of Shipping's secretary-general Peter Hinchliffe argues crew will always be needed, telling FT "a ship is a complex beast, which can be away from land for weeks at a time".

Yet both Mr Hinchliffe and Mr Levander agree finding workers is becoming more difficult, as spending long periods at sea has lost any strong appeal.