During the 2023 SMART4SEA Athens Forum, Mr. Savvas Delis, Head of Sales, MarPoint, referred to the most promising trends and innovations currently taking place in the maritime shipping industry.
Fast satellite communications on board ships, 5G on board ships, green technology, sensor technology and performance monitoring are key promising trends and innovations currently taking place in the maritime shipping industry.
With regards to 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 the LEO technology will be applied in deep sea shipping.
The revolution that 5G brings to seagoing vessels
The radical and innovative changes that 5G technology will bring to seagoing vessels on board 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 is vital
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) decided to reduce Green House Gas emissions, with a goal of reducing emissions by 50% in 2050. New regulations to reduce CO2 emissions from shipping was agreed upon at the IMO MEPC 76. The top seven green technologies within maritime to assist towards are:
- Slow steaming
- Design more efficient ship hulls
- Voyage optimization
- Optimize propulsion efficiency
- Using low carbon fuels
- More efficient port management
Why 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 up new ways to optimize the lifecycle and efficiency of ships.
The role of IT
The digital transformation of the maritime industry and the interconnection of ships inevitably involve the use of legacy siloed systems and their integration into the digital ecosystem. Key questions to ask as follows:
- Are companies prepared for the interconnection of legacy systems?
- Is the technical infrastructure capable of handling digital risks and threats originating from anywhere in the world?
- Have protection mechanisms been implemented that can detect cyber intrusions and act accordingly?
IT as a driver for technological excellence in the maritime industry
Building a solid Ship IT Infrastructure is vital in order to:
- Effectively manage the new technologies
- Provide a friendly environment to the end-user for the central management of all new technologies
- Applying best cyber security practices in order to make sure that all new technologies are properly applied onboard the ship and in accordance with the international regulations on Cyber Risk Management.
Why cyber resilience matters
Cyber resilience allows organizations to take proactive steps to protect their organization and rapidly respond and recover from incidents with limited downtime. Embracing cyber resilience enables businesses to have the foundation to deal with existing and emerging threats.
Above article is a transcript from Mr. Delis’ presentation during the 2023 SMART4SEA Athens Forum with minor edits for clarification purposes.
Explore more by watching his video presentation herebelow
The views presented are only those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.