Shipnet - Experts & Thought Leaders

Norway-based maritime technology business, Shipnet has launched Helix AI ahead of attending Sea Asia in Singapore next week, further strengthening its revolutionary Helix product, designed to transform decision-making in the shipping industry through advanced data analysis.  Helix, launched at Posidonia in 2024, provides a digital representation of the shipping business, enabling seamless integration and analysis of data from various sources such as safety, pricing, and procurement. Helix offering AI models Helix uncovers actionable insights to enhance business operations By leveraging these diverse data inputs, Helix uncovers actionable insights to enhance business operations.  Niall Jack, Director of Product Management, said at the launch: “We always had the ambition for AI to form an important part of the Helix offering and have been working on training our AI models. Validating and thoroughly testing them has taken time but we now have the critical mass of historic data to be able to deploy trained and accurate models."  Data warehouse and machine learning Jack added: “Helix itself is really a data warehouse and the machine learning part of the project which sits with Shipnet helps us develop insights we can feed back to our customers to allow them to really drive and optimise their work." "The AI models we are developing allow us to use the data on the Helix platform, to provide validations, recommendations and optimisations to our customers while continuously improving the quality of information they are feeding in through the feedback mechanisms our AI Models have." Integrated vessel management software Shipnet has a legacy of handling industry challenges with its integrated vessel control software Jack added: “The key differentiator for 'AI' here, is that it allows us to provide these validations and optimisations in real time - there are no extensive algorithms and lookups, nor extensive rule sets that need to be configured by customers - we use their historic behaviours to keep the future actions in line.” Established in 1991 and headquartered in Oslo, Shipnet has a legacy of addressing industry challenges with its integrated vessel management software, trusted by over 150 businesses in 31 countries. Its expertise in integrated vessel management software allows businesses to see the bigger picture combining technical, commercial, financial and analytical operations together. Reductions in manpower for shore teams In line with the broader shipping industry, Shipnet sees customers eager to control their costs and this often means reductions in manpower for shore teams and increased workloads. Software helps them handle this, but the use of AI allows them to offload some of that workload to Helix - automating workflows, populating orders, requisitions and commercial documents with high-quality information all without human intervention. How Helix and the data gathered can provide solutions Shipnet sees clients eager to control their costs which often means reductions in manpower Niall continued: “A significant focus is now on using Helix and the AI models to drive our service offering. We want to work closely with customers to fully understand the challenges they are facing and demonstrate how Helix and the data gathered can provide solutions to their business problems." “With Helix, we can completely change the way that we have offered services in the past and adopt new technology as it emerges, hyper-customise the service and insight that customers can receive - all whilst reducing the amount of work they need to do." Helix summary of safety-related incidents Niall continued: "As the capability of AI tooling improves, I expect we will begin to see natural language querying of Helix data - the ability to ask Helix to provide a summary of safety-related incidents across the fleet, for example, and you will get a structured report - complete with graphs, diagrams and quotations - all generated in seconds by AI.” John Wills, Head of Customer Experience at Shipnet said: “It’s not uncommon for businesses in the shipping industry to suffer as a result of insufficient data and our simplicity, transparency and ability to connect different business areas gives the most informed decision making. Our analytical capabilities with the launch of Helix AI will ultimately transform your business by funnelling your data into Helix, giving the opportunity to find out how your business is performing.”

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already driving huge changes across the world and is starting to have an impact on the maritime industry, but its transformative potential depends on addressing fundamental challenges first.  While AI promises increased efficiency, intelligent automation, and decision support, its adoption in shipping software requires a strong foundation of well-structured and engineered data, a shift in digital mentality, and a realistic approach to evaluating solutions. AI-driven analytics As global shipping navigates regulatory change, supply chain disruptions, and sustainability pressures, they must retain some realism, whilst moving quickly to take advantage of these opportunities as they present themselves. AI-driven analytics can process vast amounts of data - market trends, weather conditions, port congestion, and fuel prices - to optimise voyage planning and chartering decisions, while predictive modelling can help ship operators select the most profitable voyages while minimising risks. Commercial operations and chartering There is no shortage of solutions entering the market in this space, for many more purposes  There is no shortage of solutions entering the market in this space (for many more purposes than those mentioned) however, without well-structured data and a clear understanding of AI’s predictive capabilities, its effectiveness may be limited. If they look at other industries, “AI-Powered” solutions are often sold as a black box, with some far-reaching claims around efficiency and effectiveness. They should be wary of this in maritime, and as suppliers of technology should be very transparent on how the solutions work, what data we use to model with and how those models make their predictions. Fleet Management: Procurement, technical, and safety There are significant and obvious savings and improvements to be made across the Fleet Management space, if data quality and digital adoption challenges are addressed: Procurement and inventory management: AI is well placed to help forecast spare part demand based on historical usage patterns, vessel-specific needs, and market conditions, reducing procurement costs and minimising stockouts or overstocking. Additionally Agentic AI may play a role in automating the ordering of these spare parts. However, ensuring that inventory and consumption data is structured correctly is essential for reliable predictions – a major part of this is working with the crew to ensure that software is being used correctly, and gathering the required data. Predictive maintenance: Driven by sensor data, there has been much activity in this space – however, for much of shipping, retrofitting vessels with numerous and often expensive sensors remains a barrier. There is opportunity here for machine learning to derive greater value that we currently do from the thousands of maintenance and breakdown records we gather. Safety and compliance: AI-driven insight and analysis can help us gain intelligence that may otherwise have been missed. However, human oversight is still crucial to help derive that operational intelligence. There are opportunities for solutions that automate, assist and give feedback to crews in real time in this space – helping the humans in control of vessels do their jobs safely. Challenges and considerations The maritime industry must first address underlying challenges such as data standardisation While AI presents huge opportunities, the maritime industry must first address underlying challenges such as data standardisation, cybersecurity risks, and the need for skilled personnel to manage AI-driven systems.  More importantly, the industry must fully embrace digital transformation - not just AI solutions - by investing in high-quality data infrastructure and cultural shifts toward digitisation. Overpromising AI’s capabilities without resolving these foundational challenges may lead to suboptimal implementations and the rejection of further new developments because of this. The future of AI in maritime software AI is not just an enhancement to existing shipping software - it has the potential to redefine how the maritime industry operates. To change workflows, operational processes and drive a step change in the efficiency of shipping companies in all areas. However, the success of AI depends on the industry’s ability to manage data effectively, shift its mindset toward digital transformation, and critically evaluate AI solutions. While AI will undoubtedly have a role to play in the evolution of the next generation of maritime software, early adopters must take a measured approach, ensuring that AI solutions are truly effective rather than just following industry hype. A cautious but forward-thinking strategy will help shape the future of smart shipping.

Norway-based maritime technology business, Shipnet, has launched a new podcast titled ‘Talking Ship’, as it looks to make topical industry discussions more digestible and open the doors of Shipnet to wider audiences.  Available on Apple and Spotify, Shipnet’s first episode ‘Data-driven shipping efficiency’ features Head of Customer Experience - John Wills and Marketing Director - Jenny Duffy, who join the podcast Host and 20-year Broadcaster, Zoe Hanson, to discuss how integral shipping is to the daily lives and how the industry is recognising the need to digitise. Digitising the industry John Wills said: "Shipping is going through the curve that other industries went through ten years ago and teamed with digital-first graduates it’s a really interesting time. We have a lot to say about the industry and a podcast is the perfect place to allow people into our world, engage with us about what we’re discussing and get people talking more about digitising the industry." He adds, "There’s a lot of data available to shipping organisations but a lot of businesses are not utilising it to improve their decision making and operations yet." Element of Shipnet’s DNA They also share an integral element of Shipnet’s DNA - that so many key team members are former mariners The second episode ‘Breaking down the secrecy of shipping’ sees Product Management Director - Niall Jack and John discuss how delayed the shipping industry is to digitisation due to the secrecy that surrounds the industry.  They also share an integral element of Shipnet’s DNA - that so many key team members are former mariners, so they have the on-the-ground experience to bring to development and ultimately benefit customers. Awakening to digitisation Niall Jack said: "I started working at sea in 2015 but it’s only been in the last two-three years that there’s been an awakening to digitisation. Whereas the internet opened up accessing information on every other industry, shipping is notoriously quite secretive but businesses are getting wise to how effective data can positively drive decisions." He adds, "Users of our product are people at sea and our motivation is to build products that allow them to work more safely and efficiently." The podcast, initially in production for six episodes, will release one per month, with the first available now.