2025 in maritime technology: key digitalisation technologies impacting shipping

Major technological advances are shaping the long-term future of the maritime industry. These have been followed in depth by Maritime Optimisation & Communications and we will continue to report on them.

While the shipping industry is grappling with the eventual transition to green fuels and decarbonising operations, it is turning to digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) and low-latency connectivity for vessel optimisation answers now.

In the longer term, there are trends towards reducing manning on ships, providing faster, almost unlimited connectivity to seafarers crewing vessels, and using machine learning algorithms to prevent accidents. Here are five technology trends for 2025.

Global LEO becomes the primary satellite communications

Data communications are growing exponentially in maritime, driving demand for faster satellite connectivity with almost unlimited bandwidth at sea, but up until 2024, there was not enough capacity to meet ever-rising requirements.

New constellations of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites have changed all that, with Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starlink taking a considerable lead in maritime adoption and vessel installations.

Eutelsat’s OneWeb is coming a close second and will be followed by others from Amazon and Canada’s Telesat, and there are plans for more.

LEO constellations bring low-latency and faster communications, measuring 200 Mbps per ship, compared with around 20 Mbps for vessels using very small aperture terminal (VSAT) hardware and under around 500-750 kbps for L-band, all download speeds.

Shipowners, managers and operators are rapidly installing Starlink terminals and services as part of a revolutionary shift in satellite communications for crew welfare and operations. This will accelerate in 2025 so that vessels will just be sailing with LEO connectivity, without the equipment for communicating with geostationary (GEO) satellites. However, L-band will still be needed for maritime safety communications, which can also be provided by LEO satellites.

2025 will be the year when GEO becomes the back-up to LEO.

Ports deploy 5G and test 6G

Port communications need to be fast, reliable and available everywhere, without black spots or gaps in coverage. With greater levels of automation and remotely controlled equipment and rising demand from ships docking in these logistic hubs, comes the need for more bandwidth at lower costs.

Ports and shipyards have installed 4G, long-term evolution (LTE) and 5G mobile phone networks to provide this ubiquitous available coverage and low-cost connectivity, and vessels have access to technology to connect with them. But as demand rises, constraints become more evident.

Having overlapping wide area networks (WANs) of communications enables more users to connect and minimises issues when connectivity is critical, for example when remotely controlling terminal machinery and harbour craft in the future.

In the UK, the Port of Tyne has installed 5G and intends to test 6G in 2025 with BT as it strives to become a connectivity hub.

Other ports around the world are taking similar steps to become communications hubs, but the greater the expanse of these harbours and terminals, the tougher the challenge.

Ports are also developing digital platforms enabling stakeholders, ship agents, cargo owners, marine service providers and vendors to communicate and collaborate to minimise delays and implement energy efficiencies.

In the second half of this decade, these will be rolled out in more harbours and beyond the coast to encourage greater voyage and port arrival planning than using multiple communications networks when ships dock.

Singapore is one of the leading ports for developing connectivity and digital platforms (source: MPA)

Remote_control_centre_ROC_with_HD_Hyundai_technology

HD Hyundai's ROC has demonstrated remote control of an unlaiden container ship (source: HD Hyundai)

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.