Shipping’s digitalisation is still as misunderstood as the mythical sea monsters of the past by a significant section of the maritime industry, according to a new report by technology group Wartsila.
Although three-quarters of respondents to the Finnish engine maker and technology developer believe innovation is a positive thing, Wartsila said more than two-thirds believe digitalising existing infrastructure and retrofitting vessels is a challenge and one-third are resistant to change.
More than half (56%) agreed the time and cost implications involved with digital transformation are too high, while 63% believe there is a lack of skills and knowledge among seafarers to fulfil the requirements of new technologies, according to the Debunking Maritime Myths of Digital Transformation report.
Michael Christiansen, vice president of smart vessel at Wartsila, said the report shows the industry agrees digitalisation is essential to the future of shipping, but little tangible progress has been made because of wildly different and vague interpretations of what it actually means.
“Our report draws striking parallels between the fears and misunderstandings that gave rise to vivid stories of famous mythological sea monsters that live on in folklore today and the apprehension that many modern-day maritime professionals feel towards the largely unchartered ocean of digital transformation,” he said.
Positively, though, the report showed 70% of industry professionals have a clear understanding of why digitalisation is needed and its benefits, even though a similar number believe collaboration between industry players could be improved.
Significantly, 64% of respondents recognised that people are more crucial to digital transformation than technology, therefore a successful digital transformation will not be possible without buy-in from a larger proportion of maritime industry professionals from the beginning.
Christiansen said digital transformation can be a great unifier, but it needed to be recognised that companies are at different stages of their own journeys and progress can only be made in steps.
“Real progress will only happen when we collectively abandon the idea of digital transformation as all or nothing,” he said.
“There is still much work to be done to bridge the gaps — break the silos — between digital systems,” he said.
Wartsila added that shipping organisations need to share and learn from each other’s experiences because digitisation will not be achieved by any one player alone.
The group surveyed a cross-section of professional roles in the maritime industry across Europe and the Middle East, the US and the Asia-Pacific region late last year for the report, receiving 221 responses.
