Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2025)

Digitalization

Where does true value lie in maritime digitalization? How are shipowners leveraging improvements in data quality and

Courtesy ABS Wavesight how can a single source of truth support and inform decision- making? ABS Wavesight CEO

Staci Satterwhite assembled an All-Star panel at LISW to get some answers.

opportunities that better digital technology might bring them. data quality increases, so reliability grows.” “Digitalization is the opportunity to bridge that gap and Robert Gaina acknowledged that the path to data quality create a new and different paradigm where compliance and can mean taking a sledgehammer to the silos and, even then, operational decisions are based on the idea of horizontal deci- being prepared for a long rebuilding process. sion making,” he suggested. “Digital solutions enable you to break silos and once you “Traditionally Shipping doesn’t run like that, but if we can all have same data there’s not going to be any debate,” he ex- break through that barrier, we can make decisions that really add plained. “Our belief is that ef? ciency creates top line revenue, stakeholder value. It’s the kind of step change digital can deliver.” we’ve been looking at how to improve performance from day

The question of a single source of truth is one that answers one. In 2013 we shared our ambition to eliminate multiple itself, he argued. The alternative is the confusion and con? ict noon reports. It’s 2025 are we are still ? ghting that battle.” that too often exists now. The competing interests that de? ne V.Ships employs AI to predict risk that Robert Desai be- so much of the shipping business mean that competitive play- lieves can help change the traditional shipping mindset. The ers increasingly need the best data at their ? ngertips. practical challenges include how to deploy cutting edge tech- nology on existing vessels across a global ? eet which spans leaders and laggards. “I’m in favour of the idea of borrowing

Data Quality

Issues around data quality continue to create obstacles, but from other industries rather than waiting 10 years for shipping

Niraj Nanda contended that support is available. While indus- to ? gure it out. If we don’t do that, we will increasingly ? nd try fragmentation is undeniable, ship managers with the ap- ourselves on a path where what the shipping industry can de- propriate scale can help, with proven platforms in place for liver diverges from what the IMO demands.” shipowners to adopt without needing to build from scratch. “The systems are tried and tested and re? ect your goals – What Matters Most whether that’s emission tracking, predictive maintenance, or So, what is the one metric that shipowners need to focus business decisions. The right strategy is to choose the parts on in a period of transition that promises to be a bumpy ride, that best re? ect your ambitions,” he said. but one whose opportunities are unarguable? “For us the key

The ability to operate a full-scale ? eet performance center metric is commercial agility that is applicable at all levels,” simply wasn’t possible a few years ago but is now proven said Robert Gaina. “High quality data gives us the ? exibility in real-world business cases for digital-driven optimisation. and ability to move as we see new ways to make gains.” “Our Fleet Performance Centre monitored over 640 vessels in Niraj Nanda suggested operational ef? ciency would always 2024, cutting fuel use by 63,000+ MT and CO by 189,000+ be the critical differentiator. “By constantly measuring, we 2

MT, saving USD 38 million,” said Nanda. can make gains and cost savings from data, improve crew “One of our ambitions is to use high speed data from ships wellbeing and simplify our processes.” at sea to improve visibility and maintenance of onboard assets Robert Desai advocated for the human factor, expanding - this has been achieved by our Asset Management & Tech- from compliance to the near horizon. “We can use technology nical Support Division, using high-frequency telemetry, pre- to help our people to change their thinking and make better dictive maintenance algorithms, and AI-assisted dashboards. decisions. Big capital investments are dif? cult for a number

These insights power condition-based maintenance, reduce of reasons, but we shouldn’t miss the low hanging fruit and downtime, and extend asset life, transforming ship manage- the opportunity to challenge how our people work and how ment from reactive to proactive, data-driven operations. As we can help them improve.” 10 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • November 2025

MR #11 (1-17).indd 10 MR #11 (1-17).indd 10 11/2/2025 3:28:51 PM11/2/2025 3:28:51 PM