After years of slow progress, maritime digitalisation is entering a turning point. Wireless safety and location management systems are gaining acceptance across shipowners, class societies, and shipyards. This article outlines the key technical and cultural shifts driving adoption.
Ships need reliable, vessel-wide connectivity, but new technology always faces scrutiny. Wireless IoT offers clear benefits, yet concerns remain, including reliability, cost-sharing, user adoption, and cybersecurity.
Most wireless networks struggle to function within the steel or aluminium environment due to interference. Wireless networks must share with other users in a limited useful spectrum of radio frequencies. Other problems are related to limitations in signal strengths and losses. Wireless networks also mean that Wi-Fi modems must be located close to each other, which can cause interference and reduce bandwidth. This leads to poor coverage and dead zones.
In offshore environments, increasing the power of a Wi-Fi access point is of no use. Instead of increasing the signal, it increases the reflections of the Wi-Fi, resulting in more interference and more confusion for devices trying to connect. A practical solution is a low-frequency wireless mesh network, which penetrates the ship’s structure more effectively than traditional systems. The network is built from small nodes distributed around the vessel, each collecting equipment data and linking to its nearest neighbour. Rather than one transmitter struggling to cover everything, the mesh enables signals to bend around corners and, if a path is blocked, to reroute automatically. This self-healing design ensures reliability. Because it requires no cabling, a maritime-grade low-frequency mesh can even place nodes inside compartments, extending coverage to virtually any location on board.
While class societies have yet to fully approve wireless solutions, this isn’t experimental technology. It is already proven and ready. Major industry players such as Bureau Veritas (BV) and DNV are committed. BV recently granted type approval to wireless sensor-based vessel monitoring systems, demonstrating growing class society support. DNV is actively exploring ways to include wireless sensor networks and digital infrastructure in their classification criteria.
Beyond class societies, leading operators are seriously considering the move to wireless connectivity. Olympic Subsea’s vice-president for quality, safety, health and environment stated that keeping track of personnel on board will be a requirement on all contracts with offshore energy companies. Maersk also recently announced plans to deploy its next-generation IoT connectivity platform across 450 vessels. These movements are a sign of the industry’s shift toward embracing digital and wireless technologies as part of official safety and operational standards.
To find out more about how wireless technology is transforming maritime safety, efficiency, and data management, explore the full Thought Leadership report, Unlocking Safety and Operational Insights Through Wireless Intelligence, created in partnership with ScanReach.
