Emerging Technological Trends in Shipping and

Maritime Industry

In the last decades, with the advent of Globalisation, all the global market are open for
everyone and are interlinked with one another. For a country to thrive in this era of
globalisation, there must be an implementation of new technological innovations to stand out
from the crowd which will help them in facilitating their international trade and results in
economic development of the country. As per the reports of International Maritime
Organisation, maritime transport is essential to the world’s economy as over 90% of the
world’s trade is carried by sea and it is, by far, the most cost-effective way to move goods and
raw materials around the world. Therefore, advancement of technology in this field is
essential for the world economy.

To begin with, nanotechnology is one among the latest technological development that will
have a major impact on the shipping industry. When the size of a material is reduced
to nanometre range, its chemical, physical and biological property changes which are entirely
different from the properties of their individual atoms, molecules or bulk materials. These
enhanced properties help in resistance against oxidation, mechanical abrasions, corrosions
and high temperature, durability of machines, effective lubrication systems, lightweight
materials etc. For example, implementing magnesium or calcium nano-particles could
strengthen welds, while a new anti-corrosion coating will be used to better protect vessels.
There is also the chance for shipping companies to improve sustainability and fuel economy
by using advanced high-strength steel, aluminium, glass fibre and carbon-fibre composites.

Sensor-based logistics (SBL) is another advancement in the maritime and shipping sphere.
The sensor devices helps in detecting the current shipment location and environmental
variables such as temperature, light exposure, relative humidity, and barometric pressure and
then wirelessly transfers it to the shipper. This data will helps the ship-owners to facilitate and
improve maintenance of the vessels.

Another innovative development is the Digital Twin, which in its most simplest form is the
digital (virtual) replication of a physical (matter) system, assembly, part or just about
anything. It create a three dimensional dashboard of information and identify a vast number
of events and issues happening on-board the physical vessel in real time and helps in
mitigating the damage or technological defect at hand. The software will use 3D models of
ships not only during the design stage, but throughout a vessel’s lifecycle and automatically
updates it as systems are maintained, repaired and upgraded. It will help in predicting
maintenance requirements, manage dry-docking schedules and help engineers visualise
mechanical systems. DNV GL, Rolls-Royce, NTNU and SINTEF Ocean are some of the
major industries working to develop a new, open-source simulation platform for the design
and construction of new ships.

Shipping transactions involve a big number of papers, such as sales contracts, charter party
agreements, bills of lading, port documents, letters of credit and others related with the vessel
and the cargo. All these documents has to pass through a long chain of parties and these helps
in effecting various payments as well as the carriage and delivery of the cargo to its
destination. Blockchain could turn this whole processes into a paperless transaction. It is
useful in the way that it records and keeps track of assets or transactions across industries and
there will be higher accuracy and since all the execution of contracts and other processes are
automated, the errors are much less possible. Also, as the information is stored in a place
where everyone can have access provided that he has the required access key, there is
transparency. Another advantage is that there will be increased security as users cannot
interfere with the system and change the information stored in the blockchain, this in turn
protects the market from fraudulent activities and various documentary manipulations.
Reuters, IBM and a Danish transport company Maersk have been working together
to digitize, manage, and track shipping transactions using blockchain technology. The
companies aims to create a system using blockchain technology that can manage and track all
the necessary documents of tens of millions of shipping containers globally.

But, alas, that which glitters is not always gold. All these technological developments has its
own downsides too and if all that is taken into account and if the technology is put into proper
use, the shipping industry will flourish in the coming years.