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Digital Technologies Reshaping Shipping Industry

Posted on 22 July, 20251 August, 2025 by David Priestman

The marine sector, traditionally reliant on human expertise and conventional methods, is currently undergoing a revolutionary transformation due to the rapid advancement of digital technologies, which could lead to autonomous shipping. Research shows that 78% of maritime professionals are open to technical innovations, seeing it as a positive influence, and 80% admit how important digital technology will be in achieving carbon emissions goals.

From artificial intelligence to automation, these innovations are not only optimising efficiency but also enhancing safety, sustainability, and profitability in an industry critical to global trade and environmental preservation.

Danny Peachey (pictured), Manager Great Yarmouth from HTL Group, a leading provider of hydraulic torque wrenches, explores five key digital trends that are revolutionising the marine sector and reshaping the way we navigate and manage the world’s oceans.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics

One of the most significant trends shaping the marine industry is the increasing adoption of AI and Big Data analytics. In fact, the Maritime AI market has seen an explosive expansion over the last year, nearly tripling in size, according to the new Thetius report commissioned by Lloyd’s Register. By analysing this data, AI systems can predict optimal routes and speeds, forecast maintenance needs, and reduce the likelihood of breakdowns. This proactive approach, called “predictive maintenance”, helps minimise vessel downtime. For example, the Danish company Maersk has implemented AI algorithms to predict machinery failures and optimise fuel usage, leading to substantial cost reductions.

The potential for AI goes beyond efficiency. Safety is a key benefit as AI-driven systems can monitor maritime conditions and forecast hazards such as piracy, extreme weather, or equipment failure, ensuring the safety of both ships and crews.

Autonomous Shipping and Robotics

Autonomous ships and robotics are redefining the future of the maritime sector. According to a study by Allied Market Research, the global market for autonomous ships is expected to reach £126,63 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% from 2020 to 2030.

Autonomous ships reduce the need for large crews, which lowers labour costs and the risk of human error. They are equipped with advanced sensors, GPS technology, and AI, enabling them to navigate oceans efficiently. For example, Yara Birkeland, the world’s first autonomous, zero-emission container vessel, successfully completed its maiden voyage in 2022. This vessel operates with minimal human oversight and relies on a combination of onboard AI and remote operations.

Robotics are also making waves in the industry. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and underwater drones are increasingly used for inspecting and repairing underwater infrastructure such as oil rigs and pipelines. These robots can perform tasks that would be dangerous or expensive for human divers, significantly reducing operational risks.

Blockchain Technology

The marine sector relies on complex supply chains, making Blockchain technology a game-changer. The global supply chain can involve multiple entities, ranging from shipping lines to customs authorities, creating opportunities for miscommunication, lost cargo, and fraud.

Blockchain’s decentralised, immutable ledger provides an unparalleled level of transparency, allowing all parties involved—shipowners, port authorities, customs agents, and freight companies—to have real-time access to data about cargo shipments and transactions

Furthermore, blockchain can facilitate the automation of contract execution through smart contracts, which automatically trigger payments, inspections, or approvals when certain conditions are met. By increasing trust and reducing delays, blockchain technology is helping the marine sector run more smoothly and cost-effectively.

The Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Shipping

The Internet of Things (IoT) is creating an interconnected ecosystem in the marine industry, revolutionising everything from shipbuilding to operations and safety. By embedding sensors and communication devices into ships, engines, containers, and ports, IoT enables real-time monitoring of vessel conditions, cargo status, and environmental factors.

For instance, IoT can monitor a ship’s engine performance, detect wear and tear, and alert operators to potential mechanical failures before they become serious issues. It can also track cargo conditions—such as temperature, humidity, or pressure—ensuring that perishable goods like food or pharmaceuticals are transported safely and efficiently.

Danny Peachey, HTL Group

IoT is also revolutionising ports. Smart Ports use IoT systems to automate loading and unloading processes, manage energy consumption, and reduce bottlenecks. Ports such as Hamburg and Rotterdam are already implementing smart solutions that reduce port congestion and improve the flow of goods.

Sustainability and Green Shipping

As concerns over climate change grow, the marine sector is embracing sustainability and green shipping. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set ambitious targets to reduce the carbon intensity of international shipping by 40% by 2030 and 70% by 2050.

Digital technologies, such as AI and IoT, play a vital role in helping the industry meet these targets. For example, AI tools can optimise fuel consumption by adjusting ship speeds and routes based on real-time data. Moreover, the use of digital twin technology—a virtual replica of a physical ship—enables companies to simulate different designs and operational conditions, identifying the most energy-efficient options before they are implemented.

Low-carbon fuels, electric propulsion systems, and onboard energy management systems are increasingly being adopted, and digital platforms are being used to track carbon emissions, making compliance with environmental regulations easier and more transparent.

The marine industry is undergoing a significant digital transformation, driven by advances in AI, robotics, blockchain, IoT, and sustainability initiatives. These technologies are not only improving operational efficiency and safety but also helping the industry reduce its environmental impact. As these trends continue to evolve, the marine sector is set to become more agile, cost-effective, and sustainable, positioning itself for future growth in an increasingly digital world.

Enter the Eco-Digital Era

Posted on 30 January, 202429 July, 2025 by Keith McKinley

New research by Capgemini reveals that the eco-digital economy is expected to double in the next five years to almost $33 trillion (€30.5 trillion), but that the UK is lagging behind.

The untapped potential of digital technologies is vast, and the eco-digital economy, driven by digital and sustainability, is expected to double by 2028. That’s according to the Capgemini Research Institute’s latest report, ‘The Eco-Digital Era: The dual transition to a sustainable and digital economy’ developed in collaboration with the Digital Value Lab at the Digital Data and Design Institute at Harvard. Implementing digital technologies has enabled organisations to reduce their energy consumption by almost a quarter and delivered a 21% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the past five years, cites the report.

In this new era of a dual transition to an eco-digital economy that delivers not only economic value, but also environmental and social value, the scaling up of digital adoption will propel economic growth with sustainability at its core.

More collaborative and platform-driven than ever before, this eco-digital era is giving rise to new business models and revenue streams, as well as enhanced cost efficiencies, all driven by data utilisation, cloud technology, collaborative ecosystems, and connected products and services. According to the report, seven in 10 organisations agree that digitally-driven business models will become a key contributor of revenue growth in the next three to five years. Furthermore, 60% expect digitally driven business models to generate more revenue than their traditional business models.

“In the eco-digital era, there is greater exploration of digital technologies’ value to business – for instance by the scaling of data and cloud, and by having digital technologies play a crucial role in achieving sustainability goals,” comments Dr. Suraj Srinivasan, Philip J. Stomberg, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Head of the Digital Value Lab at the Digital Data and Design Institute at Harvard. “There is also a fast evolution of emerging tech such as generative AI and synthetic biology, and greater collaboration giving rise to digital ecosystems. This shift is truly fundamental, cross-sectoral and global in nature. One of the biggest questions that organisations have to address and manage, as they scale, is knowing what to centralise and what to decentralise in terms of platform architecture, and most importantly, data governance.”

UK Lagging Behind

While global organisations are prioritising investment into evolving technologies such as generative AI or edge computing, to decrease costs and increase efficiencies, the UK landscape paints a different picture for some of its technologies – one that is lagging behind the rest of society.

The UK findings suggest UK organisations shows similarities with the global average for GenAI and edge computing implementations (13% vs. 15%, 13% vs. 14%), but only 6% of organisations in the UK are currently implementing digital twin technologies (vs. 13% globally), and only 8% even have a roadmap to do so. Instead, as many as 43% say they are only currently thinking about it (vs. 25% globally).

The picture is similar with blockchain technology, with only 4% implementing this technology, and AR/VR/Metaverse technologies (5%) – again, the difference appearing to be that the UK is far more likely to be stuck in the ‘thinking about it’ stage. Given the worldwide focus on sustainability, the low implementation number for climate/clean tech is particularly concerning – with only 5% of UK organisations currently implementing such technologies (vs. 13%), and as many as 37% still in the planning stage.“

The eco-digital economy is unlike anything that has come before it, and society has harnessed only a fraction of the overarching potential that mainstream technologies such as cloud, AI, and automation hold,” said Fernando Alvarez, Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Capgemini and Group Executive Board member. “Organisations will need to leverage focused efficiencies in their core business, enabled by digital, in order to free up investment to support their dual transition. We are at the dawn of a new transformative era and we have only scratched the surface of how digital technologies can help expedite the delivery of substantial economic, environmental, and societal benefits.”

Role of Digital Logistics Intermediaries

Posted on 5 January, 202331 July, 2025 by David Priestman

What added value do digital logistics intermediaries provide, under what framework, and how do they interact with customers? Argentinian writer Gino Baldissare reports.

Technology is nowadays disrupting business more than ever, and international trade is not an exception. Digitalization of documents, as well as blockchain-based solutions for many responsibilities and functions, is one of the main boosters of that disruption.

What hub ports and airports mean to physical transportation, digital logistics platforms mean for all the information related to that transportation. It is in this scenario where new kinds of suppliers transform the concept of a logistics intermediary.

Who are the customers and what they can do?

The main concept behind these digital services is the possibility of managing all the necessary documents and data with multiple parties in one single platform. The market segment includes mainly freight forwarders, shipping lines, exporters, importers and customs brokers; each one of them making use of different services, as their roles in the global supply chain are different.

In terms of data and documents, we can identify three groups of functionalities:
· Assemble: generation and management of compliant shipping and trade information.
· Exchange: legal transfer and presentation of original electronic title documents.
· Storage: a full-time available information repository with comprehensive audit logs.

Digital Logistics

In practice this means, for example, that all events related to electronics Bill of Lading (eBL) or Certificate of Origin (eCOO) are identical to the paper process, but signing, attaching, sealing and transferring are now tasks replaced by some clicks in a digital platform.

How does this adds value to the business?

· Better service to customers: using electronic documents allows to save time in managing tasks like amendments, replacements and re-issues, as well as reduces potential delays, errors and risks.
· Blockchain: as most of these platforms are blockchain-supported, all data and documents managed through them get benefits like source and ownership validation and transparency; which is critical when title documents are involved.
· Audits: a complete document storage accessible anytime and anywhere, improved by blockchain advantages; thus becoming a key point at the moment of, for example, Customs audits.
· Cost-effective: due to it being faster and cheaper to send documents digitally, there are real gains in costs and time, avoiding potential detention and demurrage charges.

How does it collaborate with customers?

One of the most important points is how the user interacts with these digital logistics platforms, flexibility being a key word. It has to do not only with streamlined processes and intuitive interfaces, but also with access and integration.

· Web-based: this involves minimum cost and investment, as no software installation is needed, nor integration required. The access is made in seconds through user and password, and the whole experience relies on a cloud-based web portal.
· Integrated: this enables interoperability through API for integration with existing in-house business and third party applications (carriers’ back-office systems, corporate ERPs and blockchains, etc.) to manage all kind of tasks. For example eBL events, such as notifications, title transfer, amendment and surrender.

Legal Framework and Standards

Like any other business field, in this sector the government regulations, at national and supranational level, are mandatory despite what it is required by private players in the market. In addition, there are some carriers, shippers and trade industry standards that are recommended to be met in order to become a provider.

Therefore, the technology behind these digital logistics platforms (security architecture, data-centres, information services, etc.) must be in compliance with different standards and regulations.
· Comite Maritime International (rules for Electronic Bill of Ladings)
· Rotterdam Rules (UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods)
· UNCITRAL (Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records)
· International Group of P&I Clubs: they insure most of the ocean cargo and vessels. Therefore, a shipment under an eBL issued by a system approved by these clubs can have their coverage.
· ISO 27001 (assurance, confidentiality and integrity of information and the systems that process it)
· General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
· SSAE16 Auditing Standard
· Disaster Recovery (DR): capability to ensure that the primary production datacentres can continue working even in the case of damages caused by major disasters.

Blockchain technology as a transformational force

Posted on 22 July, 2022 by Keith McKinley

The global logistics industry, worth $8.5tn, is the backbone of economies and thriving commerce, writes Anurag Bhatia (pictured), Senior Vice President and Head of Europe at Mphasis. Throughout the pandemic, the industry was relied on for the distribution of crucial vaccines, which proved a useful gauge of the effectiveness – and weaknesses – of supply chains. We also saw how the supply chain crisis throughout Europe in 2021 hit businesses and industry.

It’s vital that companies in the space adapt to the new digital era and stay agile enough to handle sudden market shifts or changes in demand. This necessitates adopting innovation to address industry challenges, instil greater transparency and optimise operations.

The advent of Web 3.0 signals the further evolution of distributed ledger technologies, most notably blockchain. The blockchain is ideally placed to resolve logistics and supply chain management pain points, and can have a transformational effect on business models and the future of logistics.

Addressing key supply chain challenges

One of the top challenges faced by the logistics industry is the lack of transparency and traceability involved in commercial freight. This not only causes inaccuracies and delays but can also lead to cost and reputational consequences for businesses.

As the market grows, so does the supply chain and its complexities when it comes to planning and maintaining the storage and delivery of goods to successfully meet the demands of the end customer. There’s a pressing need to implement more streamlined processes to optimise these activities, made all the more difficult by the many different geographies, local regulations and administration, payments and various other stages of getting goods from point A to B.

Ensuring on-time deliveries requires keeping on top of vast amounts of documentation, inventory management and route optimisation. In an increasingly digitalised world, as data sets become bigger, companies also face new threats such as data leakage, privacy concerns, fraud and the need to spot counterfeit goods fast. In fact, cargo loss is costing the industry $50bn per year globally.

Evidently something needs to change, and many logistics leaders are turning to the power of technological innovation to address roadblocks and boost operational and cost efficiencies, transparency and resilience in the face of a fast-moving market. Blockchain technologies can play a significant part in facilitating this much-needed change.

Blockchain brings compelling benefits

A core advantage of the blockchain is its ability to bring a previously unattainable level of efficiency and productivity in shipping and deliveries. It can aid the automation of manual activities and the entire procurement process, to eliminate the likelihood of human error and optimise workflows, thereby reducing the costs and time associated with cumbersome administrative processes.

It can speed up and streamline the exchange and verification of documents, tariffs, payments and invoicing, verification of ownership, quality checks and more, providing a ledger of all relevant data. Previously, these processes fell to manual efforts and exposed supply chains to risks of fraud, mistakes, and delays. Through the application of smart contracts, blockchain solutions fully automate all supply chain agreements, which also helps with dispute resolution between parties.

Another principal benefit of the blockchain is that it enables end-to-end real time tracking of locations, product movement and fleet performance, through shared access to data and digital documents for all participants along the supply chain.

Further, the immutable nature of the blockchain, which is based on cryptographic algorithms, can facilitate verifiable, fully traceable transactions and has far greater security credentials than other networks. While other systems tend to be centralised – meaning they are left open to attacks and modification – blockchain-based solutions offer a decentralised and tamper-proof way to record important information on a distributed ledger. This maintains the integrity of data stored on the series of ‘blocks’ on the chain, which cannot be compromised or corrupted, boosting firms’ ability to manage risk and comply with data protection regulations.

Instilling trust & transparency into operations

By leaning on the power of the blockchain – particularly when paired with the capabilities of other innovations in AI, machine learning and IoT – logistics businesses can drive greater supply chain transparency. Through better access to information, and a verifiable record of each stage in the shipping and delivery process, they can spend less time validating goods, lower the cost implications of counterfeit or mis-placed products, reduce duplication and improve compliance and reporting.

Furthermore, businesses can maintain more control over data and better communication between multiple parties. This allows more attention to be directed to making the best use of data to identify opportunities for even greater efficiencies, and insights that can add real value to businesses. This can cultivate trust and a solid track record that reflects on customer satisfaction, thereby strengthening companies’ competitive edge and resilience.

In the global logistics and transportation industry, the blockchain market is set to grow by almost $889m by 2025 compared with 2021. Despite being at a fairly early stage of adoption within logistics, awareness of the benefits of blockchain is growing. Major players, including MAERSK and Amazon, have already integrated it into their operations to improve supply chain visibility and accelerate the shipping process, and the rest of the market should follow in due course.

Embracing blockchain has the potential to fundamentally transform the logistics industry, unlocking greater value and propelling it to the next level of its tremendous growth trajectory.