## 3 Future Applications and Approaches of MTE  
Marine traffic engineering (MTE) is a professional activity associated with the planning, design and management of traffic on the seas and oceans. It is an essential control activity for the safety, efficiency and environmental protection of shipping. With the increasing globalization of international trade and heightened environmental awareness, there are further opportunities and diversification of potential advances in this area. The following trends and opportunities are emerging in the industry:  
1. Improving automation and remote control with autonomous vessels and unmanned navigation systems will be further developed to autonomously save operating costs and increase safety. This will occur alongside the future development of artificial intelligence and machine learning, which can be used to create more intelligent navigation systems that can better predict hazards for optimized shipping routes.
2. Cybersecurity, which focuses on the digital dependency of technologies and communication systems, encompasses higher aspects of cybersecurity that need to be in place. The he data security systems to protect from cyber-attacks will be an indispensable part of maritime transportation technology.
3. Environmentally friendly technologies used to protect the marine environment and decrease emissions will become increasingly important. Innovations in alternative fuels such as LNG (liquefied natural gas) or hydrogen and technologies to reduce emissions will be crucial for sustainability in shipping.
4. Integrated maritime traffic management systems enable the development of integrated platforms that combine data from different sources (satellites, AIS and radars) to cover a broader range of maritime information. They help to manage shipping traffic better and thus reduce the likelihood of collisions.
5. Education and training require an interdisciplinary approach that focuses on technological developments in all shipping areas and realigning existing education and training courses. One of the most important aspects is the interdisciplinary approach to training marine engineers, including all types of technical and ecological problems related to the aquatic environment.  
International cooperation, as one of the most important issues in shipping operations, is the global nature of shipping, which reflects daily growing complexity. Global regulation and cooperation are the only possible solutions in the sense that efforts to harmonize regulations and standards globally are necessary for success in ensuring the safety of shipping worldwide.  
Further development of shipping technologies in the future should focus on highly integrated human-machine coexistence technologies providing greater safety and efficiency in maritime operations. These will be developed taking into account the protection of the marine environment and respect for our planet's resources.  
This Special Issue would not have been possible without the contributions of the authors and the reviewers. We congratulate and thank all the authors. Moreover, we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all the reviewers. Finally, we would also like to express our gratitude to the Editors of Applied Science for their technical and administrative support.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.