4 Most Profitable Innovations in the Maritime Shipping Industry

The four most promising trends and innovations currently taking place in the maritime shipping industry are Fast Satellite Communications onboard Ships; 5G onboard Ships; Green Technology; and Sensor Technology and Performance Monitoring.

The trends and innovations were stated in the 2023 SMART4SEA Athens Forum by Savvas Delis, Head of Sales at Marpoint, a leading maritime System Integrator and IT services company. Delis explained the role of IT in Maritime Technology developments in a panel discussing Smart Technologies in Shipping.

Fast Satellite Communications

Low earth orbit (LEO) satellites will enable much lower latency and higher capacity communication than additional satellites. With global coverage, no matter how remote, LEO satellites would meet the port-to-shore requirements of smart ships, allowing the vessels to be equipped to support a more efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly future.

The challenge is how quickly will the LEO technology will be applied in deep sea shipping.

5G onboard Ships

The revolution that 5G brings to seagoing vessels include:

• Significant reduction in data costs
• High speeds
• New dimensions in office-to-ship communication
• Integration of new applications
• Environmental / Green Management
• Unique Wi-Fi experience for crews (streaming/video club services)

Green Technology

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050. The top seven environmentally friendly trends are: slow steaming, designing more efficient ship hulls, voyage optimization, optimizing propulsion efficiency, using low carbon fuels, and efficient port management.

Sensor Technology and Performance Monitoring

The use of sensors provides an excellent opportunity to improve the efficiency and safety of ships and related equipment. Collecting high-quality ship data with reliable sensors can open new ways to optimize the lifecycle and efficiency of ships.

The Role of IT 

IT is required to effectively manage the new technologies, provide a user-friendly experience for central management, and to apply best practices in cybersecurity. A solid IT infrastructure includes Hardware, Software (operating system, ERP system, CRM systems), and Network (how you connect both inside and outside the organization).

Watch his full presentation here.