Development of novel technologies generate possibilities for transitions and transformations in traditional industrial settings. For example, in the context of maritime industry, key transformation domains are new alternative fuels and pervasive digitalisation. In both domains, new developments open parallel pathways that could pose simultaneous possibilities and risks for incumbent industry players and existing practices.

In this presentation, we outline a concept of “future maritime logistics space” that builds a background for scrutinising potential change trajectories in the industry setting. The “future maritime logistics space” is a planning framework, an abstract space in Lefebvrian sense, that is utilised for analysing long-term planning prospects in the maritime setting. The framework operates in three future modalities: probable futures, possible futures and radical futures. Secondly, we present a selection of case study results in the transformation domains of alternative fuels and digitalisation. The case results open perspectives to various expectations, tensions and contradictions that characterise the future perspectives and change processes in the maritime logistics.

The case studies are realised in the project GYROSCOPE: Scenarios, risks and opportunities of digital solutions in transition towards green and sustainable marine logistics (The Research Council of Finland, grant 353056). The aim of the project is to produce a comprehensive picture of sustainable transition to sustainable maritime logistics in Finland. The three case contexts of this project are the following: 1) autonomous shipping; 2) ship navigation in ice; and 3) alternative fuels.