The global shipping sector still has a long way to go. a long way on the path to its digitization, but not because it must considerably increase the degree of dematerialization of data, already having a lot of substantial volume of digital information, but rather because This information continues to be largely fragmented, poorly structured or underused. This is highlighted by the report "Mastering maritime data for competitive advantage" Carried out by the classification and certification society Lloyd's Register and its OneOcean digital platform which is was presented today at the "Smart Maritime Network Conference" in progress in Athens.

The study finds that shipping companies need to improve the way they are collected, structured and used operational data to remain competitive in an operational environment increasingly regulated and digitized. In particular, notes that, as regulatory pressure intensifies through new provisions such as the application of the EU and European Regulation emissions trading FuelEU Maritime, it is becoming essential to have data reliable operating for both regulatory compliance and operational and commercial decisions.

The report highlights that the shipping sector has There is still a long way to go before digital tools can express their full potential. According to the latest Digital Lloyd's Register Maturity Index (DMI), the standardisation of data stands at 2.45 on a maximum level of 4, while the overall digital maturity of the maritime sector is currently 2.1 out of a maximum of 4, showing progress within the sector. The document specifies that for many shipowners and operators the challenge does not lie in the generation of data, but rather in ensuring that these reach levels of qualities and are reliable and usable effectively in operations on board and on land.

The report examines how maritime organisations manage information throughout the entire data lifecycle: from collection and validation on board until transfer, processing and operational use. Research suggests that weaknesses often emerge in the early stages, when information are still manually entered or stored in systems, and notes that this can lead to data quality issues that later complicate the emissions reporting, performance analysis or business decision-making.

The report highlights that improving the governance of standardisation and system integration will be essential for the sector to unlock value of the information already produced by the fleets.

He then noted that advanced technologies such as intelligence artificial analytics and predictive analytics are highly dependent on quality of the underlying data, the report highlights that, Without consistent governance and verification processes, systems risk amplifying inaccuracies rather than provide useful operational information.

The research concludes that The next phase of maritime digitalisation will depend on greater collaboration across the entire ecosystem including shipowners, technology providers, companies ports and regulatory authorities.

PortXchange, a technology company whose purpose is support shipping companies to increase their operational efficiency also contributing to their decarbonisation, analysed the state of digitalisation in the maritime sector, in particular to assess their resilience during crises such as the one currently underway in the area of the Strait of Hormuz, where almost a fifth of the world's supply of oil, which is now practically forbidden to navigation.

The CEO and co-founder of PortXchange, Sjoerd de Jager, noted that events such as the Strait of Hormuz highlight an increasingly evident reality for the maritime sector: resilience is no longer limited to plan for an outage, but consists of in reacting quickly when this occurs, and that this Resiliency depends on the combination of reliable operational data with AI-powered insights. When the Geopolitical shocks hit global shipping networks - noted de Jager - the real challenge is to understand the operational consequences. De Jager noted that, as is the case with the occurred in the case of the crisis in the Red Sea area, if a ship transits around the Cape of Good Hope instead of crossing the Suez Canal can be delayed by days or even weeks, with arrival times in ports that change, with flows of goods that move and with plans for land transport that need to be reconfigured, in the case of Strait of Hormuz these problems are revealed even more critical because, unlike the route around South Africa, the Strait does not have an alternative passage, which means that if the traffic through Hormuz is disrupted, ships cannot simply divert the route and the traffic of goods comes to a standstill completely, with an interruption that quickly propagates to cascade along the entire supply chain.

For PortXchange, it is precisely on the occasion of these crises that AI can play a role reinforcing, rather than replacing, the operational. Artificial intelligence models - he explained de Jager - are able to analyze the movements of ships, the historical planning of trips and environmental conditions, generating increasingly accurate port arrival forecasts. When combined with port and terminal data," he specified This information allows operators to predict interruptions in advance and, consequently, to evaluate more operational impact quickly. Considering the current tensions around Hormuz - he underlined - this visibility can be Differentiating between a reactive interruption and an adaptation proactive.

However, PortXchange also agrees with what was found by Lloyd's Register and OneOcean. The effectiveness of any artificial intelligence, de Jager agreed, ultimately depends analysis from the quality and reliability of data on on which it is based. If the maritime industry already generates enormous amount of operational information - he noted - However, the ecosystem has historically suffered from information fragmented, as arrival times in ports, availability and operational planning data are often distributed among multiple subjects and systems. When the conditions change rapidly - highlighted de Jager - this fragmentation slows down decision-making just when the industry has need for speed. The challenge, therefore, does not consist in in generating more data, but in building a sufficient trust in existing data so we can act on it.

When operators can trust their operational data and combine them with AI-powered insights - concluded de Jager - they achieve something that is often the sector: a coherent and constantly updated framework of what is really happening in the service network and this clarity allows for faster and more enabling the industry to respond to shocks suddenly.