The marine artificial intelligence (AI) market has exploded, nearly tripling in size over the past 12 months, according to a new report.
This report: “Beyond the Horizon: Opportunities and Obstacles in the Maritime AI Boom” The report was published by marine research firm Thetius on behalf of Lloyd’s Register (LR).
The integration of AI into the shipping market is experiencing impressive growth. Research has found that the shipping artificial intelligence market is currently valued at $4.13 billion, with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 23%. Compared to data released by Thetius for 2023, this is a significant increase from last year’s valuation of $1.47 billion, indicating the rapid adoption of AI technology across the industry.
The data was compiled by Thetius IQ, a database that tracks the movements of over 4,000 shipping organizations. Through 604 market updates recorded by Thetius IQ in the past 12 months, 420 organizations have developed, sold, bought or invested in AI technologies within the shipping industry.
In 2023, the system will track just 276 organizations, signaling growth in AI-based solutions by maritime stakeholders.
According to Thetius, this increase coincides with growing industry demand for energy efficiency and safe operations. Regulatory pressures and shipping companies’ desire to reduce emissions to maintain a competitive advantage create a huge opportunity for start-ups and SME technology providers to bring new innovative solutions to the market.
Additionally, the report identifies 36 shipping companies that have implemented or are planning to implement AI-enabled technologies within the past year.
Available data shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), accounting for 63% of AI technology suppliers, are playing a pivotal role alongside corporate entities at 18% and a growing number of start-ups at 17%, growing by 5% from 2022 to 2023.
“The report’s findings show that the shipping industry, often perceived as traditional and resistant to change, is now embracing AI with surprising enthusiasm. This change is driven by the need to improve operational efficiency, enhance safety and address sustainability. AI technologies are being used to optimize voyages, predict maintenance needs, improve navigation safety and manage energy consumption more effectively.” Commenting on the findings, Mark WarnerLloyd’s Register’s Global Content and Communications Director said:
AI application areas
The Thetius report outlined six key areas of AI application, including voyage optimization, data-driven condition-based maintenance, autonomous sailing, safety and compliance, and energy and port management.
One example of AI being used to optimize voyages is Ardmore Shipping’s implementation of Deepsea Technologies’ solutions. After conducting extensive pilots in 2023, Ardmore Shipping partnered with Deepsea Technologies in early 2024 to deploy the company’s voyage optimization tool, Pythia, on its entire fleet. According to Ardmore’s commercial project manager, Haun RuppeltThe shipping company had been optimizing voyages manually for over 10 years, which was consuming significant man-hours.
The two companies have already completed a year of full-scale trials of the technology on an Ardmore vessel, during which Deepsea and Ardmore worked together to utilise Ardmore’s historical data to refine a set of algorithms powered by AI-generated ship behaviour models to enable the deployment of AI approaches in the tramp trade.
Another DeepSea technology choice was made by Singapore-based ship management company Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), which chose to deploy DeepSea’s performance monitoring platform, Cassandra Performance Monitoring, on its fleet. By deploying the technology on its vessels, EPS hoped to minimize fuel consumption, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and support its decarbonization goals.
The report also emphasizes that it is important to recognize that AI is a set of tools, not a specific tool in a toolbox: AI should not be deployed in isolation, but rather in conjunction with other technologies to generate maximum value.
“Systems such as AI will only be effective in the long term if users are confident and proactive in using them. Organizations can foster greater trust in AI by focusing on change management. Sharing knowledge and being transparent about successes and challenges can increase the value of applying technologies such as AI, especially in areas where caution and uncertainty remain.” It was concluded.
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