1 Introduction

ICT (information and communication technologies) do not lead to direct environmental benefits, but their smart use can definitely do so. This can be done by increasing the efficiency of the maritime supply chain, improving safety, improving the load factors, and so on. This chapter highlights the background for sustainable shipping, looks into efficiency within maritime transport, describes possibilities for improved safety, and reviews relevant ICT systems in shipping and considers their impact on improving environmental performance. The chapter will reflect on future maritime outlook within digitalization in the maritime sector.

Sustainability can be divided into different categories, such as sustainable vessel design and production, sustainable maritime supply chain, sustainable operations, sustainable production, and technologies for sustainable shipping as examples.

A vessel’s life time should cover the whole ship’s lifecycle from ship design, operation, and the process of decommissioning the vessel at the end. Sustainability is about designing the vessel with the required capabilities to operate within the planned operational criteria’s and with the focus on a solution where the capital costs are in harmony with the operational costs. Sustainable transport is to consider the whole logistic value chain and to understand the collaboration within the chain. That means the vessel should be integrated with the land side, where the focus should be to see the transport demand in the context of offered vessel service. Sustainable shipping will have a view on the vessel itself, where energy consumption and possibilities of smart shipping is considered, with a review from an environmental perspective.

In this chapter we will describe some of the central ICT systems used for sustainable shipping and the way they are operated and give examples on existing and future trends that influence sustainability where the ICT’s role in the process is elaborated. This chapter is organized in six sections. Section 1 is a short introduction, background, trends, and drivers for ICT in shipping. Section 2 focuses on how we can use ICT as tools for sustainable design, production, operation, and maintenance throughout the ship’s lifecycle. Section 3 covers sustainability in the supporting maritime supply chain. Section 4 is covering the key enabling technologies adapted from the Industry 4.0 applied to the shipping domain, denoted Shipping 4.0. Section 5 presents some major outlooks for ICT in shipping and finally Sect. 6 is a short summary.

1.1 Background

For centuries, sea transport has been a major facilitator of trades between nations, regions, and continents. More recently, together with trade liberalization, telecommunication, and international standardization, it has been a key enabler of globalization (Hoffmann and Kumar 2002). Over the past 40 years, maritime transport has increased by 250%, following the same growth rate as global gross domestic product (GDP) and growing more rapidly than global energy consumption (170%) and global population (90%) as illustrated in Fig. 4.1.

Fig. 4.1
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World trade, maritime transport, and other indicators, 1970–2012. (Source Lindstad 2013, 2016)

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Maritime fuel use, and CO2 emissions, has increased by 150%, over the same four decades. In annual figures, maritime transport has increased by 3%, fuel consumption by 2%, which is 1% less, which is the average annual energy efficiency improvement from 1970 to 2012. This improvement of one percentage point per year in CO2 productivity per ton-mile has been forthcoming without large-scale implementation of new technologies or alternative fuels. Lindstad (2013, 2016) notes that improvements since 1970 (speed, size, slenderness) may be viewed as capital substituting for energy – larger, new and slower vessels require capital but spend less fuel and emit less greenhouse gases per ton-mile freight services produced. The same can be said for new technologies, propulsion, and alternative fuels in the future; they can be delivered by investments in research, technological developments, accelerated fleet renovation, ports, and canals.

Environmental sustainability within the shipping sector is of great importance. A very high percentage of the world transport in tonnage is going maritime. The world’s maritime fleet increased from 907 million deadweight tons (DWT) in 2005 to 1.69 billion DWT in 2014, equivalent to average growth of 7.2% per year. Deadweight tonnage is the weight measure of a vessel’s carrying capacity and includes cargo, fuel, and stores.

The shipping industry has agreed that the CO2 emissions in 2050 should be reduced by at least 50%, compared with today’s shipping emission from the vessels (IMO 2018). In 2100 it should be zero emission according to Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (NSA 2018). These ambitions are following the Paris agreement, that was signed 12th of December 2015, where one of the aims was in a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. In the IMO/MPEC 72, April 2018, this was followed up by the mentioned CO2 cuts. DNV-GL have stated that the CO2 reduction from shipping requires a combination of reduction measures in logistics, alternative fuels, technical and operational measures, and offset (DNV-GL 2017).

Maritime transport is global and is traditionally regulated by the International Maritime Organization, in collaboration with the flag states. That also means the technology to be used on board the vessels should be developed with the aim of operating also outside a nation’s borders, which implies a global perspective. As regards environmental emissions from the sector, there are many different effects that can be measured, such as local, global, within a region, sector wise, etc. that includes the different vulnerabilities. Examples could be that emissions from a vessel in port in a city such as Bergen in Norway are more dangerous than in another Norwegian town as Trondheim, due to the topographic elements in Bergen where the air change is slower as compared to Trondheim. Another example is that emissions in the Arctic have a higher risk level for the environment as compared to the areas further south, due to Arctic vulnerabilities. The maritime ambition for operation in the high north should be to have no dangerous emissions, low footprint, or an environmental shipping footprint that is better or at least not higher than today.

Sustainability is to perform operations in harmony with the environment. The ICT technology should assist in the process of reducing harmful emissions, to aim for smart operations, to share information and to have an integrated logistics chain, where the operations are safe and cost-efficient. ICT and digitalization are drivers for a sustainable development of maritime shipping.

2 Sustainable Vessel Design, Production, Operation, and Maintenance

The maritime industry is somehow different from other transport industries. Each ship is unique in both design and operation as compared to the automotive industry with serial production lines. The process from design, production to operation must be time effective and profitable to maintain a competitive edge.

The shipbuilding industry is always looking for new opportunities in new types of designs. One possible shift is to focus on environmentally friendly solutions. One characteristic is that the relationship between investment in materials and operations needs to be done more in line with what the industry can pay for.

Technologically, the ship systems must be integrated in a completely different way today than the practice was before. They must be adapted to the intended operation to minimize complexity, price, and security that will require a completely different degree of multidisciplinary design and operation. Environmental technology has a global market, so the customer base is high. The challenge is to get good business models that provide a good economy to realize new environmentally friendly technology.

The maritime industry consists of a comprehensive value chain from the design of ships and ships systems for operation, and operation of ships in efficient logistics systems for goods and passenger transport in a global market. The lifecycle therefore includes the entire value creation chain as illustrated in Fig. 4.2.

Fig. 4.2
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Value chain. (Source: SINTEF Ocean)

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The advantage of a sustainable approach is not primarily savings in energy consumption on an individual trip and for a single part of the value chain but must cover the total transport and operational value chain.

Sustainable vessel design will include different stakeholder groups, from service and equipment providers, the shipping companies, user of a service, the classification and financial bodies, as well as governmental stakeholders as examples. They have different interests in different parts of a value chain, but at the end the interaction between them gives the rise of a good maritime solution and design that are developed to suite different requirements. As example of this statement, it is likely to understand that a vessel design is done out of a harmonization of the requirements, i.e., a vessel should be built to operate in the environment that fulfills the demands. If a vessel has a depth or height that is too large to sail in to a port to serve a customer, something has gone wrong in the design process. The same counts for a design that is tailored for a much higher goods volume than required from a market perspective, which will lead to a more expensive service to the customers because the total capital cost of building the vessel is higher than necessarily.

The interaction between stakeholder groups means that a good business model is crucial for success. We see the need for completely new types of ships that are more adapted to their operating field than what characterizes today’s practice. In particular, it can be economically possible to scale down the ship’s size to get more flexibility in the transport chains, where environmentally friendly propulsion and smart technology for loading and unloading operations combine for increased effects. It is important to understand the green shift also from a safety perspective. The introduction of new energy forms or new technologies, such as hydrogen or battery energy sources, must focus on personnel, material, and environmental safety. New applications of technology in a maritime atmosphere put new demands on preparedness. It is important to obtain a correct and comprehensive picture of potential accident cases, possible consequences based on the type of accident, and take the necessary measures to increase safety for both humans and equipment. The ICT’s role in the preparedness picture is crucial.

2.1 Sustainable Vessel Design

In ship design it will be especially important to ensure that the design and production of ships and equipment is as cost-effective as possible. In addition, ships and equipment must be designed to operate in the most cost-effective, environment-friendly, and safe manner possible. The maritime green shift will not come as the result of a single technology or a simple new operational practice. It will come as a result of an integrated interaction between technology and operational practices.

Interaction also means that the maritime industry should use environmentally friendly energy such as LNG, battery, or hydrogen. To succeed fully with the introduction of, i.e., LNG, it is necessary that the infrastructure expands in parallel with the introduction of new technology on board the vessels. Should it use LNG, we need LNG stations at the ports. Should ship engines be based on pure battery as main energy source we need to development a charging infrastructure on land. Vessels arriving a port on a short stay will require quick and flexible connection and a short recharging period of the batteries. This will require a different infrastructure than is usual for traditional land power plants for larger ships. Large-capacity ships will also require the development of the local distribution network on land, which in some areas is too weak to tolerate quick charging of batteries with power levels in the megawatt (MW) class as examples.

The digital transformation will be essential to achieving these aims. Simulation, virtual prototyping and virtual testing will enable the testing of complete systems early in the design phase. Using data from actual operations and data on sea conditions will make it possible to test in a virtual environment how ships and equipment will perform under realistic conditions (Maritime21 2016). Digital interfaces must be developed and standardized, components and equipment must be developed and tested, and data must be stored and shared, where the stakeholders must cooperate to realize ambitions. Digitalization will facilitate innovation in products and processes that will enhance companies’ productivity.

Examples of common used ICT tools and methods for sustainable vessel design include:

  1. 1.

    Simulation-based design and virtual prototyping. Designing new ships and ship systems is a multidisciplinary exercise involving many stakeholders working concurrently on the same concept. Concurrent engineering is getting the right people together at the right time to identify and resolve design problems. Typical constraints in the design phase is to make trade-offs in assembly, availability, operability, performance, quality, risk, and maritime safety. The design phase is an iteratively process that requires ICT tools like numerical calculations, simulations, and virtual environment to validate different concepts in an early phase. Key technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are used to bring the components of the digital worlds into a person’s perception of the real world.

  2. 2.

    Numerical tools and model testing. Optimizing ship concepts with regard to satisfactory hydrodynamic performance and energy consumptions is done with different tools like computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and other codes available for ship designers. There will always be a trade-off between different tools and required accuracy in the different design stages. Early ship concept analysis using numerical tools will play an important role to find the best initial concepts. When the design is chosen, model tests in hydrodynamic laboratories can be used to validate the concept in model scale and then scale the results to full scale. Numerical optimization methods and use of existing operational data from full-scale measurements can further be used to improve the design.

2.2 Sustainable Production

Furthermore, automation and robotization will improve the efficiency of the production phase. Design data can be directly used to generate engineering data and for automatic production preparation. Digital production systems can optimize the production sequence and improve the efficiency of operational planning.

Compared to the automotive industry, production of ships is more small series or even single production compared to mass production of cars. This requires highly cost-efficient production methods and higher degree of automation in the production line. To obtain this we need to digitalize the components, e.g., digital twins, generate documentations automatically for production, using intelligent robotics, develop standards for components and procedures, and finally have flexible system for planning and production. Digitalization of the whole maritime value chain, effective production process, and introduction of new materials will be needed to obtain sustainable production. Motivated from the German Industry 4.0 strategy, the Shipping 4.0 strategy has been introduced for the maritime industry. Shipyards, equipment providers, and subcontractors need to exchange data securely using digital platform and reference architectures based on new standards covering data management, data and service architecture, software architecture, and security architecture (IDSA 2018).

2.3 Sustainable Operation

Vessel operations must be as cost-effective, safe, and environment-friendly as possible, and digitalization will play a key role in achieving this. Data from the same digital value chain can be used to simulate and plan complex operations as well as to train personnel with the help of simulators. Data from actual operations can be compiled and later used for improving simulation models.

Each ship will have its own digital infrastructure. By using the established Internet of Things (IoT) technology, ship sensors and ship system are able to connect and exchange data on-board. Data are aggregated and processed to provide decision support for operators and for maintenance. More intelligence (higher level of automation) is done locally using embedded computing system. With the help of communications technology, the ships can be monitored and remote-controlled from land to enhance efficiency and safety and support to the vessel and crew when needed.

Creating this digital infrastructure will require developing necessary technology and components along with the digital interface to tie these together. It will also be important to give adequate consideration to the human element when developing technology. Equipment and components from different suppliers must be able to “communicate,” and the stakeholders involved will have to work together to achieve this. In sea transport, advanced commercial and operative decision support systems for operations can yield a higher degree of efficiency, utilization, reliability, and safety. More complex analysis models will help to enhance understanding of vessel performance under different conditions. Good, inexpensive communications solutions will lead to new operational and business models that can boost the competitiveness of shipping actors as a result of lower costs and improved customer service. Furthermore, predictive systems for decision support and data analysis will be drivers for optimizing and safeguarding technical and commercial operations through more effective prevention and management of undesirable events (e.g., predictive maintenance).

Examples of commonly used ICT tools for sustainable operations include:

  1. 1.

    Onboard decision support system. During operation, data measured from different sensors and other external sources (e.g., weather information, route planning, other operational constraints) can be used to give the operator advice how to operate with less use of energy. In fact, an advanced offshore vessel with a hybrid solution (both diesel and electric powered) have several combinator curves mapping desired thrust to revolution per minute (RPM) and pitch commands to the propulsion system. However, each combinator is not necessarily optimal with respect to lowest fuel consumption. Real-time operational data from different sensors and other information can be fused, integrated, and combined with numerical models to provide or suggest more energy-efficient use of the installed power system. Both energy and power management system can in a more intelligent way give decision support during operations in different operational phases to reduce both mechanical and electrical losses in the power chain.

  2. 2.

    Increased connectivity and data security. Due to improved connectivity onshore and offshore, it is possible to transfer operational data for online support and monitoring for maintenance purposes. Secure data transfer and ownership of operational data will require digital frameworks where ship owners, operators, and equipment providers can share data based on digital and secured contracts.

  3. 3.

    Autonomous transport system. Sustainable shipping will cover the whole transport chain, including ports, authorities, and intelligent transport systems (ITS) which must be a complete integrated transport system that needs to be optimized. Cost/benefit analysis technology of transport system design, as well as systems for monitoring and reporting, is therefore an essential ICT tool that must be included into an operational context.

2.4 Sustainable Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is a common strategy in shipping industry. The service interval is based on the manufacturer recommendations and classification society requirements. However, the preventive approach is not perfect and cannot guarantee zero failure when shipping. In addition, due to increased pressure on cost, maintenance must reduce the downtime. Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is a different strategy where operational data can be aggregated to detect early signs of failure or to adjust maintenance plans. Increased connectivity between ship and shore offers remote monitoring possibilities.

3 Sustainable Maritime Supply Chain

The maritime industry accounts for about 2.2% of the total global CO2 man-made greenhouse gas emissions (IMO 2014). Work is ongoing to make this figure lower and as low as possible. The success will come from a combination of the integration between operational and technical issues. Sustainable transport chains count for an integrated chain where several transport modes are working together in a smooth operational context.

There are therefore two important key drivers of knowledge that are important for achieving a difference, where the goal is to achieve sustainability within a transport:

  1. 1.

    Operational knowledge: Improvement and reduction of energy consumption in existing transport systems by better planning and smarter operation of a vessel

  2. 2.

    Technological knowledge: Transition to alternative forms of energy or development of new technological solutions that increase performance in a more sustainable way than existing solutions

Integrated operations (IO) is a term normally used within the oil and gas sector, which focuses on the integration of people, organizations, work processes, and information technology to make smarter decisions. It is enabled by global access to real-time information, collaborative technology, and integration of multiple expertise across disciplines, organizations, and geographical locations.

The interaction between technology, organization, and people is essential for success. But of course, legislative and regulatory frameworks must be in place. A close interaction and collaboration between authorities, infrastructure managers, cargo owners, and service providers and a holistic approach to the goal of sustainable shipping is desirable.

3.1 Operational Knowledge

In the context of a sustainable transport chain, integrated operations (IO) is considered as a good structure and a way of organizing the collaboration between sea operations, between sea and land, and between people, technology, and organizations. ICT will play an important role in IO, but we should not forget the people and organizations that are operating or controlling the ICT. “It’s 80 percent about the people, 15 percent about processes and organizations and 5 percent about technology” says David Latin, Vice President, E&P Technology (BP 2009).

About sustainable transport, the whole value chain must be considered, not only the ship performance but also the utilization of the transport means along the chain. A vessel, truck, or a train must aim to avoid empty transport. An integration between transport demand and transport services, as example between a customer and a vessel operator, is therefore the key for an integrated sustainable shipping transport approach, where the tailoring of the transport means is done based on the cargo to be transported. As regards the transport aspect, in some cases, slow steaming is best practice; in other cases, the speed is decided based on the next leg in the value chain, i.e., the interaction between a vessel and a train, truck, and a deep-sea operator that are carrying the goods to the next destination. To be able to do such planning, it is important to integrate the logistics systems between the actors involved in the transport, which is called integrated planning.

From the oil sector, we see the planning activities and the move of responsibilities by sending more and more duties to land-based centers, such as the planning of a work orders at an offshore installation as a trend. The same trend is expected to come to the shipping sector.

The transfer of the IO principles to the planning domain has led to the development of the concept of integrated planning and logistics (IPL). The concept represents a holistic perspective on planning, emphasizing the interplay between planning horizons, between organizational units, and among cross-organizational partners. It is defined as a holistic, cross-domain planning enabling optimal resource allocation and activity prioritization for safe and efficient operations (Ramstad et al. 2013).

This work has confirmed that information sharing and cooperation across disciplines/organizations represent significant challenges related to planning. It has showed that current work processes in planning do not support integrated planning; neither does the organizational structure nor the performance management systems. Consequently, there is a need for better coordination between activities as well as identification of dependencies across discipline and organizations. Moreover, there is a clear need to develop tools that can help the industry to develop the existing planning processes into a more integrated practice. Furthermore, we have not seen the use of models that contribute significantly to the decision-making in overall planning. We believe this also counts for the maritime sector where planning and logistics should have more attention than today, where not only the sailing from port-to-port is considered but also the integration with land-based services such as the terminal and the next transport leg for the cargo, normally by truck out of the terminal.

The IPL model is used for achieving integrated planning and promoting a proactive planning culture, as illustrated in Fig. 4.3. It introduces key enablers for design and implementation, where ICT, roles and processes, and arenas for plan coordination are included. It includes the basic capabilities and cultivating a 4C culture (commitment, competence, continuous learning, collaboration). The key is to build trust and knowledge between the stakeholders, the planners, and those that are executing a transport. Main efforts of the work carried out have therefore been focused upon answering the following questions:

Fig. 4.3
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Integrated planning and logistics. (Source: SINTEF Ocean)

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Processes and roles:

  • How can the industry implement a best practice for integrated planning?

  • What characterizes the planning domain, which roles and actors are involved, and how can decision-making across roles and actors be facilitated?

  • How can KPIs (key performance indicators) support implementation of a good plan, and which indicators are crucial at different planning levels?

Optimization tools:

  • How can new conceptual solutions for optimization tools support integrated planning (e.g., optimization of logistics operations, smart shipping, efficient cargo transfer)?

  • How can information be shared and used for situational awareness and decision support?

  • How can autonomy, automation, and automatic reporting assist in releasing demands to operators, at the same time as error within reporting is reduced?

Arenas for plan coordination:

  • What types of arenas are necessary for efficient plan coordination and what are significant requirements for designing and implementation of the arenas?

  • How can the industry facilitate collaboration, teamwork, and committed participation on the arenas?

  • How can the whole value chain be considered and not only a single transport mode?

Integrated planning is key to cost-effective and secure operation, where it is crucial to have a comprehensive picture of all operational activities related to, e.g., a maritime operation, in order to make better decisions. This requires all parties involved to interact with a common goal to achieve desired results and shared gains. Here it is important that everyone understands the importance of developing good plans and understanding the totality and value of everyone’s contributions. For companies, the introduction of integrated planning involves facilitating effective interaction through both organizational and technological means.

The lesson learned from the work within the oil and gas sector can be applied to the sustainable transport chain domain. As previously mentioned, the technology itself cannot make a difference without a close link to the instances operating the technology, the organizations, and the humans.

ICT for sustainable shipping is therefore the interaction between the technology, the collaboration and planning of operations, and the human and organizational influence in the execution stage, including governance.

Changes in business models may be necessary to realize the energy savings potential of shipping. As an example, to let a ship optimize speed, it may also have to adjust port arrival and departure times which requires increased cooperation between charterers, ship operators, and ports. Speed as well as arrival/departure time optimization is today difficult to implement due to a prescriptive contract regime between the parties of the transport operation. To change this, one may need new business models, including increased transparency.

3.2 Technological Knowledge

Technology should be used to optimize the best chain performance, by understanding the operational criteria and by suggesting decision support that should be sent either automatic to a control system or to humans as a filter before the commands should be entered to the technical systems.

While maritime transport is very efficient, there is still up to a 75% CO2 emission savings potential (IMO 2009). Significant parts of this potential savings depend on more efficient port operations both to reduce idle berth or anchorage times and to optimize voyage execution. Thus, measures that improve efficiency of trade will in general also contribute to the greening of transport operations.

Technical knowledge will generate new technical solutions and products/systems that have not yet fully been taken into use today. This may include new propulsion systems like energy saving devices on a vessel and general improvements with more energy-efficient solutions, or systems used for trade purposes. New alternative energy based on carbon neutral production from wind, hydropower and waves can contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. This might require battery systems and new energy converters on board the vessel.

Other factors that may be important for achieving reduced emissions in maritime transport are new transport patterns and logistics solutions, higher utilization rates on ships (land-to-sea cargo) and increased competitiveness by introducing a tax level that promotes maritime transport in competition with land-based transport such as truck transport. This also counts for an efficient loading process, where the handling technology is modern and cost-efficient, maybe also autonomous.

An interesting field and subject area that will be important for the green shift is the more efficient use of large amounts of data. What can be learned from available data and how to integrate them to provide added value for the development of new technology? The world today is heading toward the digital age. We must exploit this to research on new environmentally friendly and smart solutions. These are systems where cost-effectiveness, security, and commercial values are important. Energy management is an example of how to learn operational practices where, for example, the use of multiple energy sources is done to increase the efficiency and utilization of the energy available. One of the keys is to provide data in the form of continuously monitored by a ship’s control center, which is brought back to research to promote new innovative technologies.

Figure 4.4 shows how Maritime Information Systems relates to both regulatory and commercial systems, both cargo details and maritime operation, and both public information (tariffs, safety, fees) and commercial information (logistics, ownership, liability) (Rødseth et al. 2017). Traditionally, Single Window (SW) System is defined as “A facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfill all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements. If information is electronic then individual data elements should only be submitted once.” The role of a system in this context is to be the “glue” at national level to achieve single entrance of data, coordination among all actors, and added value services both related to trade (cargo handling) and maritime actors and related to regulatory and commercial actors.

Fig. 4.4
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Maritime information systems and the role in a Single Window context. (Source: SINTEF Ocean)

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The figure divides the port clearance processes into four quadrants dependent on the Single Window (rounded rectangle). It mainly handles the ship or cargo import/export and where the process domain is mainly in the public or private sector. This is a generic figure and in real implementations, one or more of these Single Windows may be integrated or further subdivided. The main Single Window functions are:

  • Maritime Information Management System (MIMS): This is a system dedicated to collecting ship movement data for safety and security purposes and which in Europe typically is integrated with SafeSeaNet (2009). The MIMS will typically handle AIS reports, ship reports as mandated in SOLAS, and other data.

  • Maritime Single Window (MSW): The Single Window concept, as strongly encouraged or even directed by international and EU policy initiatives today, appears in a number of forms, where it primarily addresses the need for collaborative, efficient electronic transactions between governmental and business trade and transport entities (Rødseth et al. 2011). This is the system that handles ship clearance as defined by the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic, the FAL convention (IMO 1965). Note that the EU Directive 2010/65/EC stipulates that most functions of the MIMS shall be integrated with the MSW.

  • Trade Single Window (TSW): This is one or more Single Window systems dedicated to import and export of cargo. These are typically operated by Customs authorities or other public entities with responsibility for tariffs, contraband, inland security, or related issues.

  • Port community system (PCS)/Terminal Operating System (TOS): These are typically commercially operated systems that coordinate logistics operators in the port or in a terminal.

The upper half of the picture is “controlled” by authorities directly or indirectly based on statutory law, while the lower half is controlled by private parties and is governed by commercial contracts or other private agreements. The left half (blue) is related to ships and maritime services, while the right-hand side is related to cargo and trade.

In this picture, “Trade Single Window” is an authority-operated single window that caters for document flows related to import and export clearance of cargo, usually for several transport modes. The operation will be regulated mainly by national legislation although the actual tariffs and documentation requirements are usually based on multilateral agreements. The Maritime Single Window is an authority-operated single window for clearance of ships, including the cargo they carry (whether intended for import, export, or transit) partly regulated through the FAL Convention (IMO 1965).

Vessel Traffic Management and Information Services (VTMIS) is a nautical control system for ship movements in and approaching port where functions are mainly regulated through SOLAS (IMO 1980). An information system can be used to generate value-added services by coordinating regulatory information from VTMIS, for instance, automatic identification system (AIS) information (dark-blue quadrant) and logistics actors (light-blue quadrant). In this context, in Fig. 4.4, Short Sea Navigation fits into the Maritime Single Window part (dark blue), while Customs fits into the Trade Single Window part (dark orange).

Supply chain management systems are systems that are used to control a door-to-door transport, across different modes and transport providers and to integrate transport demands and put the demands into transport. Supply chain systems organize transport data, cargo data, and statuses and provide status reporting along the transport chain, by managing the flow of information and services. The data within a supply chain management system can be used for optimization and for allocation of transport orders. In this context a supply chain management system is important to achieve a sustainable transport chain, by providing tools and solutions for an integrated management, where most relevant applications within the maritime sector are either managed within the management system or integrated with the system. Below is a list of concepts, terms, and systems that have a central place in a maritime transport chain:

Single Window is defined as “A facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents with a single-entry point to fulfill all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements. If information is electronic then individual data elements should only be submitted once” (UN/CEFACT 2005).

The Single Window concept, as strongly encouraged or even directed by international and EU policy initiatives today, appears in a number of forms, where it primarily addresses the need for collaborative, efficient electronic transactions between governmental and business trade and transport entities (EU 2010). Ship formalities, cargo declarations, and safety and security notifications are all services that should be rationalized and offered in a harmonized manner by a transport and trade Single Window application. Modern process definition and information systems development methods and technologies can significantly support a Single Window application design and implementation process.

The one stop shop business model has been exhaustively researched and applied in the context of e-business and e-government service provision over the last decade (Wimmer 2002 and Fjørtoft et al. 2011). In a similar vein, in the trade, transport, and shipping sector, the “Single Window” (SW) concept was formalized by the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business, to enhance the efficient exchange of information between trade and government agencies (UN/CEFACT 2005).

Port Community Systems

The main goal of a PCS is to control the trade-related activities within a port, by managing information, and to perform mandatorily reporting to authorities. A port community system (PCS) is a system that is operated by the ports. It is an information management system that has been implemented normally closely integrated with Terminal Operating Systems (TOS) and public services, such as customs, immigration, and police e-services.

The role of a port community system differs some from country to country and from port to port, due to the trade types within the port. As PCS is widely recognized as a critical instrument in facilitating national and international trade. In Europe, nautical authorities under the auspices of the EU and EMSA have develop national Single Window systems for nautical information that is in turn integrated into the European SafeSeaNet infrastructure. These initiatives do help in providing a more integrated environment for the maritime business actors and the authorities, but as policies and implementations differ among countries and ports, they do also create a relatively ambiguous and complex environment.

e-Freight

This is solutions that will encompass legal, organizational, and technical frameworks to enable transport operators, shippers/freight forwarders, customs, and other government administrations to seamlessly exchange information in order to improve the efficiency and quality of freight transport logistics.

In 2016, more than 50% of the global air trade relied on paper-based processes. In the MARNIS project (MARNIS 2009), it was identified more than 40 reports and statements to be sent from a container vessel arriving and departing a port coming from an abroad port. A shipment can generate many paper documents, and many of the processes, such as track and trace, still depend on human intervention. One of the aims will be to automate this reporting as much as possible, to avoid unnecessarily burden on navigational personnel.

The e-freight initiative is a program that aims to build an end-to-end paperless transportation process made possible through the regulatory framework, modern electronic messages, and high quality of data.

e-Customs

The EU Commission outlined a course of action for a more robust and unified EU Customs Union by 2020. The Customs 2020 Programme maintains the support for coordination between the customs administrations of EU Member States by providing a platform for the electronic exchange of information and the development of common guidelines and IT systems. In parallel with this initiative, EMSA, supported by DGMove, introduced the eManifest pilot project, which aims at demonstrating how different cargo notifications used for maritime or customs purposes can be consolidated in an eManifest and reported electronically in a harmonized manner to a Maritime Single Window, together with the other reporting information covered by the Reporting Formalities Directive 2010/65/EU.

IMO e-Navigation

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has described e-Navigation as “the harmonized collection, integration, exchange, presentation and analysis of maritime information onboard and ashore by electronic means to enhance berth to berth navigation and related services, for safety and security at sea and protection of the marine environment” (IMO 2014 b).

e-Navigation is intended to meet present and future user needs through harmonization of marine navigation systems and support of shore services. It is primarily related to safety management and aids to the nautical operators. e-Navigation is an ongoing initiative by the IMO to implement next generation navigation and safety systems for shipping. e-Navigation will be supporting ship critical information as well as vessel reporting to shore-based sites. Information coming from the AIS-transponders, the ISPS-documentation, as well as more ship-specific information will be of relevance.

ECDIS

ECDIS stands for Electronic Chart Display and Information System. It is a geographic information system used for nautical navigation that complies with International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations as an alternative to paper nautical charts. IMO refers to similar systems not meeting the regulations as Electronic Chart Systems. An ECDIS system displays the information from Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) or Digital Nautical Charts (DNC) and integrates position information from position, heading, and speed through water reference systems and optionally other navigational sensors. Other sensors which could interface with an ECDIS are radar, Navtex, automatic identification systems (AIS), and depth sounders as examples.

AIS

The automatic identification system (AIS) is an automatic tracking system used for collision avoidance on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS). The tracking system is either based on terrestrial receivers, from satellites, or from the VHF transceivers which are used when vessels are within range of each other’s. When satellites are used to detect AIS signatures, the term Satellite-AIS (S-AIS) is used. Information provided by AIS equipment, such as unique identification, position, course, and speed, can be displayed on a screen or an ECDIS. The International Maritime Organization’s International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea requires AIS to be fitted aboard international voyaging ships with 300 or more gross tonnage (GT) and all passenger ships regardless of size.

The automatic identification system (AIS) gives important information on vessels’ identity, position, speed, and course. Also, sensors at port, in containers, or in the vessels may give information of interest to the user.

Navigation and Bridge Systems

Bridge systems are normally used for a navigation purpose or to control the vessels safety and propulsion system. It is integrated with other control systems but is capable of operating without a direct link. The bridge system will be different between types of vessels. Examples of types of systems can be described as following:

  • Wind system: measuring and monitoring wind speed and direction for monitoring and input to control system (e.g., dynamic positioning system)

  • Radar: track of other vessels within a radio range

  • Electronic sea map: mapping of the chart systems; normally it includes dynamic data such as weather and wind forces

  • Echo sounder: gives the depth at the vessels fore and aft positions

  • Navtex: gives navigational warnings from messages broadcasted from both international and local channels

  • Bridge systems: integrates all navigation systems as well as gives the opportunity to provide a bridge navigation watch alarm

  • Speed log: gives a speed through water and distance traveled

  • Autopilot: Heading control, Advanced Auto utilizing automatic ground tracking control, Course or Precision Cross Track control when integrated with navigation sensors

  • GPS Plotter/GPS: position sensor for Radar, AIS, ECDIS, autopilot, echo sounder, and other navigation and communications equipment

  • Compass: provides accurate heading data for autopilot, radar, AIS, Sonar, and plotting systems

  • ECDIS: gives the navigators a tool for precise route planning, monitoring, and navigation data management

  • Weather facsimile receiver: receives and writes the weather map and satellite pictures

Integrated Automation System (IAS)

IAS is used to control and monitor different onboard systems such as engines, propulsion, and thruster and vessel performance. It covers information systems and alarm monitoring systems, power, and energy management systems. Each solution is custom-made to a vessel’s operating profile. Ships are increasingly using systems that rely on digitization, integration, and automation, which calls for cyber risk management on board. As technology continues to develop, information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) onboard ships are being networked together – and more frequently connected to the Internet. This brings the greater risk of unauthorized access or malicious attacks to ships’ systems and networks. Risks may also occur from personnel accessing systems on board, for example, by introducing malware via removable media. The safety, environmental, and commercial consequences of not being prepared for a cyber incident may be significant toward ICT for sustainable shipping.

4 Key Enabling Technologies for Sustainable Shipping

“Industry 4.0” is a national strategic initiative from the German government through the Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWI). It aims to drive digital manufacturing forward by increased digitization and the interconnection of products, value chains, and business models. Industry 4.0 has become a trend word for the ongoing digital transformation in every industry domain.

Industry 4.0 has been established as a collaborative effort, not only at the European level but also in collaborative with international initiatives. It represents the fourth revolution in manufacturing and industry. Industry 4.0 is the current transformation with the key enabling technologies, Robotics-Autonomy, secure data exchanges, cloud, cyber-physical systems, robots, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), simulation, and other emerging technologies as shown in Fig. 4.5.

Fig. 4.5
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Shipping 4.0: key technologies. (Source: SINTEF Ocean)

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The Industry 4.0 has been adapted to the maritime domain, where Maritime 4.0 or Shipping 4.0 has been introduced. However, there are some key technologies that cannot be directly used from Industry 4.0, due to limited connectivity to ships and lack of both national and international regulations and standardization. Examples of technologies that are adapted to the shipping domain are described in the following parts.

4.1 Key Enabling Technologies Adapted to Shipping Domain

Some of the key technologies will have more impact than others for the maritime domain. Compared to the manufacturing industries, the main challenge is the have sufficient connectivity between ship and shore side to access data from the cloud and other data storage system. In essential the following technologies will be essential and game changers for shipping.

  • Internet of Service at Sea (IoS@Sea): Due to increased connectivity at sea, manual paperwork onboard a ship can be digitalized. Digitalization of working process will include automatic transfer of performance reports and other reports required to different stakeholders (ports, authorities, ship owner, ship operators, etc.)

  • Internet of Things at Sea (IoT@Sea): Technology based on the Internet of Things (IoT) will allow stakeholders in the value chain to exchange and track operational data in real time. Where problem cannot be solved onboard, notification from ship to shore that the right parts and technician can be ready and waiting when vessel berths. Every single component with an IP-address onboard a ship can in principle send and receive data. Digital twins can be used to store and analyze operational data which will lower the maintenance cost. However, the bandwidth can still be limited to use the cloud for data exchange. Another technology-like edge computing allows the data processing to be done near the source of the data and reduces the communication bandwidth needed between the sensors and central data center.

  • Open system integration at Sea: Traditionally, each equipment and service providers must integrate their equipment on every ship. Uncoordinated development across the industry and a conservative approval regime result in fragmented solutions with low user-friendliness and relative high cost for integration and classification. An open system integration process will typically include standardized user interaction, open system integration architecture, and test methodology for functional testing (not system or component testing).

  • Robotics and Autonomy at Sea: Automation and control systems reduce the manual work in shipping and reduce the environmental footprint. Remote control allows decision to be made outside the ship, and work processes will move from ship to shore. The process moving from manual to fully unmanned autonomous ship will naturally involve remote control to ensure sufficient maritime safety. Autonomy means being that a system or a device can sense its environment and take decision without any human input. Level of autonomy in shipping will increase, and more advanced algorithms and more sensors will be integrated. Key technologies are artificial intelligence, prediction, and big data analytics to be used for decision support.

  • Simulation and optimization: Simulation technologies are an essential technology covering design, manufacturing, training, and operation of ships. Each role or component is modeled and integrated into complete dynamic models including control systems. Virtual prototyping requires simulation infrastructure and standards for data exchange. Virtual prototyping forces experts from different knowledge domains to collaborate on the same digital mode to develop the optimal trade-off solution. Distributed simulation systems also allow different stakeholders to work on the same digital model.

4.2 Communication

There are different needs for communication based on the vessels type, position, and the trade a vessel is operating in (Rødseth et al. 2009). Example, a fishing vessel have other requirements to communication and bandwidth than a cruise vessel. Further, vessels used in the oil and gas sector are more advanced than a container vessel sailing between two destinations and therefore requires higher communication capacity.

  • Minimum requirements: This is defined by SOLAS and can as a minimum involve radio communication equipment with no digital capacity beyond what is implemented in GMDSS (DSC, NAVTEX, etc.). This class requires voice communication for all but some distress notifications.

  • Efficient reporting: This would imply that a ship can send and receive mandatory and operation-related reports without problems. A rough estimate is a transmission requirement of below 64 kb per 24 h. Receive requirements are probably lower. This could easily be handled with line speeds of below 9600 bits/s.

  • Efficient operation: Given that operational processes are more moved to shore, efficient operation would require more (automatic) reporting from the ship, e.g., on machinery condition monitoring, remaining consumables, various special requirements for port calls, and so on. Line speeds of 9600 bits/s will probably provide the required transmission rates although volumes may easily be doubled or more compared to the previous class.

  • Online ship: This concept covers a ship that can be put online for remote maintenance, system diagnostics, or other purposes. This could include updates of digital weather forecasts, navigational maps, etc. This requires a relatively high total capacity and also higher available bandwidth. A somewhat uninformed guess is on the order of a megabyte per 24 h and minimum 64 kbit/s. This would also be sufficient for online emergency coordination, i.e., exchange of emergency-related status and planning information between ship and shore.

  • Broadband ship: Passenger ships, research ships, and other ships that require transmissions of large quantities of data also require high-capacity communication links. This may mean rates of 1 megabit/s or more and correspondingly high volumes of data.

One should note that data requirements change as the ship enters or leaves various sea areas. Typically, data transmission requirements will normally increase substantially as the ship near port. This opens up for more cost-effective communication by using a combination of communication mechanisms and channels, which could be a mix between satellite-based services and terrestrial solutions.

One should also note that new services or applications that are coming to market normally are more bandwidth hungry than it was only a few years back in time. We also see the trend that many new applications are integrated with other applications, as example through cloud technology, which requires an infrastructure that is online all the time.

Figure 4.6 is an example on sectorial drivers as regards communication in an Arctic environment. It is based on typical services within each ship category, and it shows the expected demand for bandwidth, where green color represents high demand, yellow moderate, and red low. The picture is used as an illustration and is not the through picture of communication needs based on empiric data analysis, it is based on different results from previous projects and from a “light” analysis of the data traffic from a vessel.

Fig. 4.6
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Bandwidth demand per user category. (Source SINTEF Ocean)

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Although this section is mainly concerned by communication between ship and shore, it may also be useful to look at the communication networks used onboard the ship. The networks have been grouped vertically in three main groups, as illustrated in Fig. 4.7:

Fig. 4.7
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Common ship network types. (Source SINTEF Ocean)

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  • Safety related: networks that are critical for the ships safe operation. This includes, e.g., navigation systems, fire alarm systems, automation systems, some cargo systems, etc. The networks are usually not interconnected to avoid potential problems with propagation of faults. The networks are also typically redundant or in other ways made more robust.

  • Commercial/business: these are business critical networks that carry traffic that is critical to the commercial operation of the ship. This may be the general office network or networks associated with supervision of non-dangerous cargo and passenger invoicing. These networks can easily be integrated, but restriction on network technology may limit open integration.

  • Infotainment: entertainment and noncritical information to the crew and passengers. This may be included in the commercial/business category, but usually invoicing is handled by separate mechanisms not necessarily being dependent on the network itself, i.e., invoicing applications in gateway or management systems.

As noted above, safety and security considerations have so far limited the degree of interconnection between networks. However, with the increasing use of IP technology and new extensions to this, e.g., virtual private networks, it is becoming feasible to look at increased integration.

Ship (and other systems’) network are generally organized in a tree structure. This is a robust and convenient structure as it reduces interference between networks to a minimum.

Figure 4.8 illustrates a possible structure for a ship network. On the lowest level is a number of “instrument networks” that interconnect low-level devices, e.g., GPS receivers, heading sensors, and so on. On the level above this, a number of “process networks” interconnect devices and computers related to one process onboard. In this figure, the navigation or bridge system is shown as one process, the safety systems as one and the integrated alarm and monitoring systems (IAMS) as a third. The latter will typically include engine control as well as heat and ventilation control. On the next level is a system-level network interconnecting the different process segments to achieve integrated ship control. As an example, alarms from fire alarm systems must be transferred to the IAMS, and fire alarms may also trigger specific smoke extraction functions in the ventilation system. This layer is mostly implemented as point-to-point links today. On the next level is the technical and operational functions collected on the administrative or ship office network. This may again be connected to a ship level network.

Fig. 4.8
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Layered ship network. (Source SINTEF Ocean)

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Note the use of “fire walls” between process networks and between higher layers. The purpose of these fire walls is twofold:

  • Ensure that faults or malicious actions in one network segment cannot influence others. This includes limiting the number on frequency of external access requests to a safe level. This is critical for the process networks.

  • Ensure that data only is made available to authorized users. This is not directly safety related but covers protection of sensitive commercial or personal information.

Note also that fire walls may be embedded in parts of the system or in the communication means used. As an example, a talker-type serial line protocol can transport data from one system to another while ensuring that no problem in the second system propagates back to the first.

Different ships will show different topologies, and one cannot normally expect to find a pure tree structure in all cases. However, from the instrument level to the gateway to the administrative or ship level networks, one will normally employ a very strict tree structure to ensure integrity in the different functions and to ensure that faults in one process or in one network propagate to others.

Today, most of these networks are mostly decoupled to maintain safety and robustness. Some integration takes place, but this is very limited and usually just to connect one system to another through a point-to-point serial link. Some systems also allow remote access through an Ethernet gateway, typically via use of virtual private network (VPN) technology. Thus, the figure more indicates a principle than an actual realization.

Another element of interest as regards communication is called cybersecurity. An increased use of ICT has made a vessel more vulnerable. Cybersecurity comprises technologies, processes, and controls that are designed to protect systems, networks, and data from the unauthorized exploitation of systems, networks, and technologies. The trend today is that vessels are getting more and more digitalized with higher level of automation. Normally, automation systems are interacting with external sources which rises the danger for cyber threats. Therefore, good preventive information security is important. By information security, we mean that information is protected against unauthorized access. Cybersecurity is the protection of data and systems connected to the Internet.

5 Maritime ICT Outlook

The shipping industry is heading for a new game changer. A large percentage of the goods and volume loads are transported at sea, which has been the trademark of shipping. In the coming years, we will see new opportunities emerge for generating renewable energy, increased food production, and harvesting of other natural resources, minerals, and medicines from the sea, according to the CEO Harald Solberg, Norwegian Shipowners’ (Association 2018b). He further says that:

  • We must reach international accord in the UN maritime organization IMO on an ambitious strategy for reducing CO2 emissions from shipping

  • Shipping must seize the opportunities presented by increased digitalization, a development that will impact every aspect of our members’ operations

  • The industry must contribute to solutions for sustainable development and cultivation of our oceans

One suggestion mentioned from the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association according to sustainability is to equipping ships with sensors to collect data and track the health of the oceans and harnessing the power of innovation in the industry to devise technology for removing garbage from the sea. The ships can collect the garbage, but land-based depots to deliver the garbage must be in place. It will be hard to succeed if not thinking the whole value chain, which counts not only for garbage collection but for all shipping trades in general.

In the list below, there are some research questions recommended illuminating for a sustainable shipping approach.

  • A clean ocean: technology for monitoring and combating pollution in the sea and air. For example, how can knowledge be used for designing emission-free crafts, how to make a business model that supports the green shift, and how to create robust technology for the purpose.

  • Environmentally friendly operations at sea: How can we utilize the resources we have in an environmentally friendly environment? Keywords include increased utilization, coordinated logistics, good forecasting systems, and sound management.

  • New technology: How can we obtain sufficient knowledge and data for good operations? Technology is an interaction between structures (boat, fleet, cages, terminals, subsea installations) and technology (communication, sensor, engine, control systems, propulsion technology) and the people who will operate the technology.

  • Climate-friendly operations: How can we develop the best propulsion technology for the environment? This may mean different suitability of solutions, from battery operation to hybrid solutions, and use of heavy oil vs MGO (marine gas oil), low-carbon fuel, renewable energy sources, new energy recovery systems, etc.

  • Operational logistics: How to stimulate integrated solutions where the vessel’s schedule and speed are dependent on the load and the terminal the vessels are sailing to? Schedule is based on the shortest journey, the most environmentally friendly journey, where external factors like tide, wind, and weather are playing together with the logistic planning of the journey.

  • Design of transport solutions: In this, the need to build vessels and constructions is based on the operational areas that the vessel will be operated in. The balance between CAPEX and OPEX should be optimized for each vessel’s operational purpose.

  • An integrated picture: How can the entire life cycle count into the climate calculations, where interaction with all stakeholders in the value chain counts? We believe that many of the solutions need to be operated and created across domains and not as individual results supporting only one country, port, or one vessel. Integration of data sources is essential for new knowledge.

  • Monitoring and control: It is and will be important to be able to monitor maritime operations to establish best practice that is done in an environmentally friendly manner. The interaction between operation, technology, and people to detect unregulated operations as an example to controlling illegal activities.

  • Secure technology: The sustainable shift also means fighting accidents and emissions in the best possible way. What will a discharge mean to the surrounding environment for fish and plants, and how can we handle an emission efficiently and environmentally are questions to be answered together with the demand for new technology to battle the threats.

  • Automated solutions: New technology such as unmanned or low-powered vessels can have a positive climate gain if they are operated properly. Today’s technology can be divided into several levels, such as fully autonomous solutions that make all decisions independent of information and commands from the outside world into what is likely to be a future solution in automated solutions where technology takes decisions after they have obtained information from interoperable systems (e.g., from weather sensors). Use of intelligent transport systems (ITS) in the maritime sector will be important.

  • Propulsion systems: New and improved propulsion systems including hybrid solutions with energy storage on board. Development, testing, and verification of new solutions; focus on low-carbon fuel; renewable sources of energy and better management of the available energy. The main goal is to verify that the technology is climate-friendly and that it gives the winnings it is designed for. We need approved technology for this purpose.

  • Use of large amounts of data: In an environmental and sustainable perspective, it is important that we build new knowledge from available data that we can trust. Here is much undone, and we need new knowledge in combining data sources that will make the situational understanding (situational awareness) better. Not least, this is important when new environmentally friendly technologies are to be introduced and developed, for example, test of new ship designs, with available data in laboratories before the building process starts.

  • Efficient ship concepts: This relay on a good hydrodynamic design, including both hull and propulsion solutions. In general, the operational profile will determine what type of hull propulsion and machinery solution that will best fit the profile to have the minimum fuel consumption over the operating profile. Hull that has low water resistance means less energy needs. As a rule of thumb, additional speed requires twice amount of thrust and third times amount of power. Increased speed speaks against a more sustainable shipping. However, there will always be a trade-off depending on the environmental footprints and business models. Optimization of hull and propulsion systems can be investigating using CFD tools and also model tests in hydrodynamic laboratories.

  • Power systems: Zero/low-emission power systems are reflecting new power systems. Power system is used mainly for producing power to the propulsions systems but also for other power consumers like hotel loads (air-condition system, cranes, winches, other ship systems, etc.). New trends are going from diesel to more non-carbon energy sources like solar, fuel cells, hydrogen, and battery. In general, sustainable solutions will be combinations with multiple energy sources that depend on different environmental, operational, and safety requirements. Power systems need highly advanced ICT systems to manage energy efficiency.

6 Summary

There are many challenges to be addressed to obtain a sustainable shipping industry. But for sure, it will be impossible to reach ambition goals of no or low emissions without focusing on the ICT technology. The interaction between technology and operation is extremely important for success.

Sustainable shipping is an area with good opportunities for success. The interaction between industry and government is essential. As an example, the focus on battery as energy source for car ferries will be of great importance for the development of expertise and solutions in this field that other types of maritime operations can get valuable knowledge from. Here, the authorities can stimulate new innovations in the form of supporting programs and schemes that help create new technology.

The regulations must in many cases be formulated in parallel with the development of new technology. What will the introduction of autonomous solutions mean to the sector as an example, and how can we develop new regulations for the purpose, and how can it be tested in a controllable environment are keys for success. As an example, the Coastal Administration plays an important role when they are working together both with the service providers, the users, and the regulatorily bodies when new laws and regulations are developed. The role of being close to the maritime industry and to be able to provide good advices and assessments along the way that the industry can achieve inspiration from and acquire new environmentally friendly technology is an important governmental role.

As mentioned, ICT for sustainable shipping contains many elements. It is trade-related, operation-related, and safety-related and will involve not only technology but the operational knowledge within the maritime domain. It is cross-discipline-oriented and has ambitious goals for the future to reduce emission from the sector.

If the Titanic expedition had happened today, it is likely it could have been avoided. New solutions, better communication infrastructure, and a more integrated picture are the case today. The good element from the Titanic accident was that it started a process of generating needs for communication and development of new ICT solutions. It provided the VHF frequency to be used for the maritime sector and highlighted safety as important. But the sector is about to enter into a new epoch where exchange of information in a digital format will be the future. More shore-based control and follow-up and a better governmental control on all maritime operations. Even service providers are preparing themselves for a better control of technology supported to end users. The interaction between the operational and the technological aspect will be much stronger than today. The sustainable element in it will of course be one of the key drivers.