Guidelines for data ownership and access

The ‘Data Ownership and Access in Maritime – Best Practice Guidelines’ document published includes recommendations on establishing ownership of the data created by vessel equipment and systems, translation of digital signals into usable data formats for analysis, consent-based sharing with third-party analytics providers, and other related issues of key importance as the digitalisation of the maritime industry continues to progress.

In all, the publication highlights 11 key considerations for industry stakeholders to discuss at the beginning of any contractual relationship for digitally enabled systems, to ensure that data ownership and access rights are agreed upon early in the process and that any subsequent use of the data created by shipboard equipment is based on the principle of informed consent between the relevant parties.

We are delighted that the diverse range of organisations represented within the Smart Maritime Council have been able to come together in the spirit of collaboration to create these wide-ranging guidelines, with the goal of improving data access across the industry

said Rob O’Dwyer, Chairman of the Smart Maritime Council.

Guidelines

#1 Raw Data ownership

The Raw Data originating from Shipboard Equipment in the normal course of operations belongs to the Equipment Owner (in most cases, the Shipowner). Ownership of this Raw Data confers the right to access, copy, modify, process and store the data, and to assign these same access privileges to others.

#2 Consent to use Raw Data

As ownership of the Raw Data lies with the Equipment Owner, consent to use that data for any purpose must be granted by the Equipment Owner before its use. The use of data (anonymised or otherwise) by Equipment Manufacturers or relevant third parties for ongoing improvement processes, benchmarking and other related activities is acceptable, but only with consent clearly agreed in the contract terms for the equipment.

#3 Translation and Normalisation of Raw Data

Equipment Manufacturers are entitled to charge a reasonable and proportionate fee for basic translation of Raw Data from its original format into a standard format for processing if the original format is unusable by the Equipment Owner. This could take the form of a onetime data translation fee for a specific data set, or an ongoing subscription under a continuous ‘data as a service’ supply agreement, based on agreement between the parties.

#4 Access to Raw Data Codebook

When so requested, an Equipment Manufacturer should provide the Shipboard Equipment’s Codebook to the Equipment Owner, who may in turn forward the Codebook to a third party (such as an ITC services provider) for the purposes of reading, processing or normalizing the Raw Data. The Raw Data Codebook shall be provided for free or for a reasonable and proportionate fee related to the cost of its provision.

#5 Processing of Raw Data into new forms

Raw Data that has been processed by the Equipment Manufacturer using the company’s own intellectual property (software, algorithms etc) is a separate product to the Raw Data itself. Equipment Manufacturers can expect to be paid a reasonable and proportionate fee for the work involved in adding value to Raw Data through processing. Equipment Owners also have the right to have their Raw Data processed by third parties other than the Equipment Manufacturer should they so choose. Equipment Manufacturers should not introduce barriers to access to this Raw Data purely for the purpose of restricting the Equipment Owner’s rights in this regard.

#6 Pre-defined available data points

Equipment Manufacturers should share any predefined lists of existing data points that they are able to provide for free to the Equipment Owner at the time of contract, with the contracting parties recognising that items falling outside that pre-defined list may require customisation project work to be undertaken and may incur an additional charge for the effort and resources involved.

#7 Confidentiality of sensitive Raw Data Equipment

Manufacturers are entitled to agree specific restrictive contractual terms with Equipment Owners to restrict sharing of Raw Data with identified third parties that are in competition with the Equipment Manufacturer, if such a restriction is seen as necessary to protect intellectual property, guard against reverse engineering of proprietary technologies and maintain business competitiveness, without detriment to the Equipment Owner. Such restrictions should be agreed by both parties at the beginning of the contractual relationship.

#8 Access to ISO 19848 data

It is acknowledged that not all Raw Data created by equipment during operation will have value to the Equipment Owner, and that some Raw Data may be kept private by the Equipment Manufacturer due to it being relevant only to the running of the equipment itself. It is suggested that items included in the ISO 19848 codebook and data catalogue should be used as a neutral and freely available non-exhaustive list of public data points that should be made available to Equipment Owners by all Equipment Manufacturers upon request. The formats of non-listed Raw Data types emitted by Shipboard Equipment may be kept private by the Equipment Manufacturer, as they may contain intellectual property may be relevant only to the running of the equipment itself.

#9 Historical data

Availability of historical data from Shipboard Equipment should not be presumed. The amount of time that Raw Data will be available after it has been initially created will vary according to the type of equipment in question and may be minimal. Should the Equipment Owner expect that they will require the Raw Data from Shipboard Equipment to be collected for later use, they should discuss the inclusion of data historian equipment and services (on the ship, in the cloud or on shore) with their Equipment Manufacturers or with third party service providers. It is accepted that data that is owned by the Equipment Owner at the time of its creation may not be available at a later date if no provisions for its collection and storage have been agreed.

#10 Transfer of data sets in sale/purchase contracts

In contracts for the sale and purchase of vessels, the inclusion of historical data sets with the ship cannot be presumed. It is recommended that contracts for the sale and purchase of vessels incorporate explicit clauses pertaining to the data that will be transferred with the transfer of ownership of the vessel, recognising the data’s status as a separate asset from the ship itself. Contractual clauses should include a data manifest. Such a clause should also be considered for inclusion in contracts for the transfer of management of a vessel between a Shipowner and third-party manager.

#11 Liability through data ownership

When taking ownership of vessel data, Shipowners should consider that they may also be transferring responsibility for the storage, protection and security of that data from the Equipment Manufacturer to themselves. This responsibility may also introduce liabilities in any circumstances where that dataset is considered as an item of interest in an incident, accident, or any other legal inquiry, where it could be deemed that control of specific datasets implies knowledge of the status of operation of Shipboard Equipment. Failure by the Equipment Owner to share Raw Data under their control with the Equipment Manufacturer could also hinder the Equipment Manufacturer in preventing or mitigating shipboard incidents relating to that equipment. The Shipowner should consider these issues of responsibility and liability when asserting their data ownership rights, seeking support from third-party services in managing their data where required.

EXPLORE MORE at the guidelines for data ownership