2025 in maritime technology: key digitalisation technologies impacting shipping

Rising cyber attacks drive demand for advanced protection

Cyber attacks and ransomware incidents are increasing in the maritime industry as ships and ports become further connected and threats become more advanced. Cyber criminals are targeting onshore staff and seafarers through emails, texts, social media and instant messaging with greater effectiveness, which is why they need constant training and updating on the latest threats, how to detect them and recover after an incident.

Hackers have the technology to take control of ships, to change container manifests and command harbour equipment, if they so wish. Cyber security needs to keep up with these advances and so do the organisations that provide and verify it. And shipping companies need to implement it faster with more conviction, with investment from the board level downwards.

It has become an arms race of ever-more advanced cyber security to tackle the criminals, with both using artificial intelligence, advanced encryption and other tools to unlock secure networks, IT and operational technology.

Classification societies have bolstered their cyber security and digitalisation expertise, with DNV acquiring CyberOwl and Lloyd’s Register purchasing OTG in 2024. We can expect more of these deals, more advanced solutions to be unveiled and new innovative cyber threats to emerge in 2025. And potentially, the first ship collisions and grounding due to a cyber incident, if an unreported one has not happened already.

AI takes centre stage in optimisation

Ships are becoming clever, and computers are learning how to run different aspects of maritime systems. It will one day be possible, in theory, for computers to run a shipping company without human intervention.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used for data processing and analytics for ship operations, voyage planning and optimisation. Machine learning and AI are increasingly used in ship reporting with data going through algorithms for cleaning, trending and benchmarking. It provides insights for energy optimisation, reducing fuel consumption and extending machinery life, for predictive maintenance and safer navigation.

AI optimises voyages for the greatest efficiency, but there are questions whether this leads to safety risks in adverse weather and sea conditions, which is why human intervention is seen as essential to prevent accidents.

However, as algorithms are further developed and AI becomes more intelligent, humans will be removed from processes such as administration and daily monitoring, with expectations they will be free for more advanced operations. But knowing how industry responds to technology to generate efficiencies and synergies, there is a risk of these skills being lost and ships run by computers.

Maritime heads into a remote-control era

AI is enabling autonomous navigation through hazard detection and avoidance, preventing collisions, and is using ECDIS for voyage information, and automatic identification systems (AIS) to identify other vessels to avoid, and tracking their progress. Sensor fusion involving radar, lidar, camera streams and enhanced visuals is providing the essential information for remote control, while AI will provide the processing power for autonomous navigation.

Digitalisation and IoT provide data and information to onboard computers and to remote support and operating centres over satellite communications or mobile networks if close to coastlines, all with redundancy in case of a failure.

The first remote operations centres (ROCs) are demonstrating commanding vessels, which will lead to uncrewed ships. Norway has several unmanned vessels transporting cargo, vehicles and passengers on shortsea routes. Offshore vessel owners are building and testing unmanned assets for seabed surveys and subsea inspections.

Shipbuilders are gaining approval from class and registries for technology and ROCs for controlling commercial ships.

2025 will see more demonstrations and approvals in principle for autonomous navigation technologies and more ships completed ready for unmanned operations. There will still be a need for seafarers and career development, but these trends suggest they will need retraining to remotely command ships.

If the maritime industry adopts autonomous technologies as quickly as it has LEO connectivity, there will be no seafarers on ships within a decade.

Sign up for Riviera’s series of technical and operational webinars and conferences:

• Register to attend by visiting our events page.
• Watch recordings from all of our webinars in the webinar library.