The shipping industry is undergoing rapid digital transformation, turning vessels into floating offices and homes. At this year’s SMM Hamburg, Inmarsat Maritime hosted a seminar discussing how AI, IoT, and enhanced connectivity are driving digital efficiency and growth. The session highlighted how advancements in technology and connectivity are reshaping maritime operations, offering commercial benefits and improving crew welfare.
The Necessity of Digitalisation and Connectivity
Pankaj Sharma, Head of Performance Optimisation Control Room at Columbia Shipmanagement, reflected on how digitalisation has evolved from a mere concept to a necessity for the shipping industry. Connectivity, he emphasized, is the enabler that allows ships to embrace digitalisation, enabling real-time data extraction from shipboard systems and facilitating maintenance and repair using advanced technologies like digital twins and virtual reality.
Marty Cochrane, CEO of CEATAEC, echoed these sentiments, highlighting how modern maritime connectivity enables vessels to operate more efficiently and transform from traditional floating assets into connected entities linked with offices.
The Floating Office and Crew Welfare
Marco Camporeale, Vice President for Strategy and Business Development at Inmarsat Maritime, described the modern vessel as a “floating office” supported by always-on cloud infrastructure that ensures seamless connectivity. This allows for enhanced artificial intelligence-driven processes that ease the administrative burden on crews. Furthermore, the concept of the “floating home” has emerged, addressing the need to keep crew members entertained and connected to their families, which is a strong motivator for digitalisation.
Customer Satisfaction and Digital Cargo Tracking
For shipping companies like Hapag-Lloyd, customer satisfaction is a key focus of their digitalisation strategy. Donya-Florence Amer, CIO and CHRO at Hapag-Lloyd, explained that technology is being leveraged to improve operational efficiency and provide customers with timely, accurate updates on their cargo. Hapag-Lloyd is equipping its containers with IoT devices that update container locations every 11 minutes, aiming to reduce this interval to three minutes for even more precise tracking.
Balancing Investment in Digital Technologies with ROI Concerns
While some companies are fully embracing digitalisation, others remain cautious due to uncertainty around return on investment (ROI). Matthias Bloete, Director of Controlling & Corporate Development at Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG, argued that financial KPIs should not be the sole determining factor in making technology investments. Instead, companies should consider whether new technologies address real challenges and if they have the right team in place to implement them.
Ensuring Cybersecurity in a Connected Maritime World
As the maritime industry becomes more connected, cybersecurity has become a critical concern. Inmarsat’s NexusWave, a fully managed connectivity service, is designed to address these concerns by providing secure, high-speed, and reliable connectivity. With military-grade infrastructure, NexusWave ensures safe data transmission across various networks, and its unified threat management system protects both corporate and crew networks on board ships.
NexusWave
Inmarsat’s NexusWave stands out as a tool that supports the vision of the floating office and home. With unlimited data and secure, always-on connectivity, it plays a vital role in enabling ships to function as both workspaces and homes for crew members, ensuring efficient operations while maintaining crew welfare.
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Source: Cyprus Shipping
