Delivering on the Promises of Maritime Software

Maritime software solutions in recent years have shown results in fundamental applications such as navigation, weather predictions, and route and maintenance planning. More recently, the industry has seen advances in areas like digitalization, automation, integration, interoperability, data analytics and big data. 

“Maritime software has gone from a passive monitoring role with simple functionality to being an integral component of fleet operations,” says Staci Satterwhite, CEO of ABS Wavesight, ABS’s “software as a service” (SaaS) company. She points out, however, that to reach the next level it must add value and create new opportunities, qualities that require greater sophistication balanced with ease-of-use.

In the first generation of maritime software, companies developed solutions in-house but found they no longer met today’s cost and performance requirements and were increasingly hard to maintain. One of the challenges in implementing technology, says Albrecht Grell, Managing Director of OceanScore, a startup for data-driven solutions for maritime emissions and compliance, is the fragmented nature of the industry with many owners and managers being small- to medium-sized enterprises with limited resources.

In addition, the complexity and pace of maritime trade has risen exponentially. Eric Christofferson, Chief Product Officer of Veson Nautical, which offers a digital platform to propel maritime commerce, points to a dramatic increase in regulation, particularly around environmental issues, requiring more sophisticated tools to increase efficiency, sustainability and safety.

Against this backdrop, industry observers say software can play a big role through the increasing use of big data and analytics as well as AI and machine-learning. “Digital twin” technology offers a new level of predictive tools while blockchain applications help to manage the supply chain. 

The challenge remains to find the right balance between automation and human oversight.

Managing Data

The industry has a voracious appetite for data, which is proving critical for creating visibility on issues such as emissions and vessel performance. 

“The way we see it, instead of confirming what you thought you already knew, software is starting to provide data that supports smarter and proactive decision-making,” says ABS’s Satterwhite. But all across the industry, executives also point to the challenges of ensuring the quality and efficacy of the data. OceanScore’s Grell notes that data quality becomes even more important when making operational decisions to meet new emissions regulations.

“Creating higher value insights that support better decision-making is essential,” states Satterwhite. ABS Wavesight, for example, believes software needs to combine comprehensive operational data with environmental, class and regulatory insights to quantify risk and enable operators to make decisions with confidence. 

Connectivity and Cybersecurity

Driving this newfound role of data in the decision-making process and shaping everything from commercial decisions to compliance are advances in connectivity. Even a few short years ago, ships were struggling to maintain links and have the necessary bandwidth, but Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems, particularly Starlink, have dramatically changed all that. 

While it was unthinkable just a decade ago, the maritime industry has now been able to move to a SaaS business model for software providers and for vessel operations to move toward cloud computing. ABS Wavesight, for one, replaced traditional system architecture with the SaaS model. 

DNV Maritime Software points to the advantages of accessibility, scalability, cost efficiency and reliability by moving its software solutions to the cloud. However, DNV believes the maritime industry still faces challenges in improving communication between vessels and offices.  

“With increased connectivity and the growth of digitalization, the risk of cyber threats grows,” notes Torsten Kapple, Director of DNV Maritime Software. “Developing robust cybersecurity measures to protect data and communication channels is critical. Most importantly, all measures should be externally screened, tested, and certified, for example, through a specialized SOC 2 audit to ensure cybersecurity is effective in the real world, not just on paper.”

Real-Time Analytics

The industry is seeing how progress is possible using data and software tools. Veson’s Christofferson says computers are ideally suited for examining complex, multi-variant problems like decarbonization and points to its own systems that permit users to test carbon pricing variables, one of the most complex and multi-factor challenges facing the industry today.

Software makes it possible for operators to perform a new level of real-time analytics while in contact with their vessels around the globe. They can balance routing, time and speed and determine the optimal operating characteristics. Elements such as fuel mix can be factored in along with other variables while considering the impact on a vessel’s performance and Carbon Intensity Index (CII) score.

With the introduction in 2024 of carbon pricing, OceanScore’s Grell says high-quality emissions data can “become a question of commercial life and death for a shipping company,” given the costs and eventual penalties prescribed by the emerging regulations. He says software can aid commercial processes around the new sustainability requirements, especially regarding the E.U.’s ETS and FuelEU regulations. 

Digitalization, adds Grell, will also play a key role as existing regulations expand and new ones are introduced in a regulatory environment that remains dynamic. 

The Search for Standardization

“The challenge is to bring consistency and unification across the industry,” says Julian Panter, a 20-year industry veteran at SITA, an info-tech company. Working with Columbia Shipmanagement, SITA announced in May the launch of SmartSea, an integrated maritime digital management platform, to leverage its expertise into maritime. 

“Integration of technology will undoubtedly make shipping more efficient,” says Panter, a view shared widely across the industry. However, there are hurdles in realizing this next level of the long-held promise of efficiency.

The industry needs a standardized approach to data, something it largely lacks today, adds ABS Wavesight. DNV agrees, saying that creating standardized protocols for data exchange will be crucial. One major development is IMO’s Maritime Single Window (MSW), among many other digital and smart port initiatives worldwide, with ports such as Singapore, Rotterdam and Hamburg among the leaders of these efforts.

“The next challenge for maritime software will involve ensuring interoperability between various systems, scaling software to handle growing complexities and ensuring accurate, reliable and ‘safe data’,” says OceanScore’s Grell. 

Companies have also begun looking for ways to unlock greater value for users from their data. One example comes from AXSMarine, which recently launched an integrated solution with NextVoyage to address workflow inefficiencies in the maritime industry. As the industry still suffers from disconnected systems and datasets, they believe they can help customers save time by reducing the need for manual inputs and improving workflow efficiency.

“It’s critical,” says Veson’s Christofferson, that “industry participants and solution providers work together to evolve with trends and the shifting landscape.”

What Will AI Do?

The wildcard for the future comes from Artificial Intelligence. 

While software is tackling optimization for everything from routes to fuel consumption, the emergence and acceptance of AI has the potential to take advances in automation and efficiency far beyond what they are today.

“AI is a technology high on the hype curve right now,” says Satterwhite. “That being said, AI’s power to inform decision-making is very interesting for shipping companies looking to improve their analysis and operations.”

Industry observers point to the potential of data analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT) to harness sensors and greatly advance predictive maintenance. From efficiency and voyage optimization to cargo management, autonomy and customer service, Veson’s Christofferson says AI’s ability to make highly sophisticated situational assessments based on enormous amounts of complicated and unstructured data will ensure an enduring presence.

“AI may still have some way to go to shake off its dystopian image and step into its more realistic role as a powerful tool to help humankind achieve its biggest goals,” he cautions, but says it will eventually bring huge enhancements to efficiency, safety, sustainability, customer satisfaction and competitive advantages.

Among the early adopters of the broad application of AI, French shipping group CMA CGM recently announced a partnership with Google to accelerate the integration of the technology into all aspects of its operations. It emphasizes the opportunities to optimize vessel routes, container-handling and logistics offerings to enhance efficiency, responsiveness and adaptability to market fluctuations and disruptions.

DNV Maritime Software sees AI playing an increasingly pivotal role in transforming the shipping industry. “Digital twins and AI have become pivotal in optimizing operations,” notes Kappel, highlighting that DNV’s offerings support advanced simulations and operational enhancements for owners and operators. To accompany its customers on the digital evolution step-by-step and at different speeds, DNV launched Cloud Journey, a phased transition of its comprehensive fleet management software, ShipManager, to the cloud.

“AI, through its pattern recognition capabilities, can add real value,” adds OceanScore’s Grell, who sees it as a valuable tool. “We believe that in the field of maritime data, there is hardly a space where AI will not be able to add significant value.” 

Delivering the Future

No matter how maritime software evolves, it’s clear the industry has become connected and far more data-driven than analysts would have predicted just a few years ago. The challenge remains to tap into that power and potential to meet the challenges that lie ahead. – MarEx 

Allan Jordan is the magazine’s Associate Editor.