Welcome back to another week of tech insights in maritime, where I interview a maritime expert and bring you their unique perspective and advice on how you can take their experiences into your organisation. This week, however, I’ve used Nick Chubb’s handy bite-sized interviews from 25 experts at Nor-Shipping to bring you the top technology trends in maritime for 2025.
What happens when you corner 25 maritime industry leaders at Nor-Shipping and ask them the same question? You get a fascinating snapshot of where our sector's heading technologically. Thetius Founder Nick Chubb did exactly that, armed with a microphone and one simple question: "What's maritime's top technology trend for 2025?"
Nick Chubb, Founder of Thetius
The answers he gathered offer some surprising insights into our industry's digital priorities. Let’s start with the most popular, and it may shock you…or not.
“I don't think it's any surprise, but I think the top trend is AI”
It’s no secret that AI has been innovating industries across the globe and is constantly evolving on a daily basis. So it’s no surprise that over a third of maritime leaders identified AI as the most prominent emerging trend this year - and that’s not including those that specifically didn’t mention AI because they were ‘excluding the obvious’.
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What’s particularly interesting about Nick’s impromptu research is how AI’s popularity spans across different maritime sectors and roles. From ship management and port operations to data analytics and compliance, everyone's raving about AI. Christopher Aversano, Partnership Lead at Wood Mackenzie, said it best: ”I don't think it's any surprise, but I think the top trend is AI.”
A report published this week by Flagship Founders found that 45% of startups now report using some form of AI within their company. The market is effectively flooded with new solutions, all promising to streamline processes and reduce workload, but not all of these revolutionary new businesses can survive.
As technology leaders in maritime, you have the difficult task of sorting through the trendy new ideas to find meaningful solutions that actually solve problems within your organisation.
“Without data quality...the AI is just not going to work”
Discussions on AI segued naturally into conversations around data quality and validation. After all, every comprehensive AI model is built on a foundation of accurate data. Fabian Fussek, Founder & CEO of Kaiko Systems explained, “In order to really leverage AI to the maximum, you have to get the fundamentals right, you have to get a proper data structure and have workflows that can support this advanced technology.”
An opinion that’s shared by Kelsey O., Product Marketing Manager for Digital Ocean at Kongsberg Maritime: “Without data quality...the AI is just not going to work.”
For CIOs, quality data is the backbone of every decision you make. Recent advancements in High Frequency Data and connectivity have significantly enhanced the vessel data we are able to collect and process. Industry leaders at Nor-Shipping are almost as excited about data as they are about AI in 2025.
“By 2026, at least 50% of bulk carriers and tankers will have some form of wind propulsion”
Another notable mention that came up was wind-assisted propulsion technology. With the IMO’s net-zero target looming and emissions regulations refined on a yearly basis, decarbonisation technology is on the rise in 2025.
John Cooper, CEO of BAR Technologies, shared an interesting statistic he’d heard recently: “By 2026, at least 50% of bulk carriers and tankers will have some form of wind propulsion.” With statistics like that, if you’re not already looking into WAPS, you probably should be.
Following this theme, a number of other leaders mentioned decarbonisation, electrification, ammonia and nuclear energy as technology trends to watch out for in 2025.
“‘Less-is-more’ is going to be the mantra for 2025”
Other mentions from industry leaders include crew welfare, performance monitoring and IoT. Dharm Parikh, Head of Strategy at Geoserve, shared a unique perspective in his bite-sized interview that’s left me thinking. He believes this year is all about the consolidation of products and services. Going forward, integrations and single platforms will be key. “‘Less-is-more’ is going to be the mantra for 2025.”
Quick-Fire Tech News Round-Up
Well, that’s all for another week of tech in maritime. I’ll see you back here next week, same time, same place. Ailsa