Maritime digitalisation has spent years defining standards and data models, yet many shipowners still face fragmented systems and disconnected information flows. A workshop led by BIMCO, ITS Norway and the DYNAPORT project suggests the next phase will be less about creating new standards and more about making existing ones work together in practice.
The value of digitalisation is often measured by a simple question: can information move seamlessly between vessel, port, authority and service provider?
That question was at the heart of a recent industry workshop convened by BIMCO in collaboration with ITS Norway and the DYNAPORT project. Held in Copenhagen, the two-day event brought together 45 representatives from shipping companies, ports, authorities and technology providers to examine how the maritime sector can improve interoperability between ship and shore systems.
While discussions around maritime digitalisation have often focused on new technologies, participants agreed that the industry’s main obstacle is now implementation.
According to workshop participants, substantial progress has already been made in defining standards, frameworks and data structures. The remaining task is ensuring those standards are applied consistently across regions, organisations and digital platforms.
One area of broad agreement was the role of the IMO Compendium. Participants viewed it as the industry’s primary semantic reference, providing common definitions and terminology that allow different stakeholders to speak the same digital language. However, they also agreed that the Compendium is not intended to function as a technical blueprint for system integration.
The workshop also found growing support for federated digital architectures. Rather than building a single centralised platform, stakeholders favoured approaches that allow existing systems to exchange information while retaining operational flexibility and avoiding costly system replacement programmes.
Trust was identified as another critical requirement. Participants noted that large-scale international data exchange requires robust frameworks covering identity, authentication and governance across multiple jurisdictions.
Digitalisation projects often struggle when vessels, ports and service providers use different interpretations of the same information. The workshop concluded that greater consistency will come through shared implementation principles rather than additional standards.
To support that effort, participants backed the development of a principle-based industry declaration known as the “Golden Rules for Maritime Digitalisation”, intended to provide practical guidance for organisations seeking to turn digital ambitions into operational reality.
Tags: BulkContainerGas CarrierPort and TerminalTanker
