The ship management technology market includes any software or software enabled services used in the commercial or technical management of merchant vessels. A significant proportion of the services provided today are cloud based data and analytics applications, though there is a growing role for IoT and artificial intelligence applications.

The ship management technology market can be broadly split into six segments; bunkers and procurement; vessel performance and routing; crewing and training; end to end solutions, classification and technical management; chartering, commercial and cargo monitoring; and connectivity and data management.

There are 148 commercial organisations worldwide building software or technology to support ship management. 53% of them are startups, 38% of them are SMEs, and 9% are large corporate entities who are either classification societies or original equipment manufacturers for the maritime and defence sectors.

Since 2010, $280million of venture capital has been invested in startups developing software aimed at the fleet management market. This is a relatively mature maritime technology sector, with the majority of startups at the venture stage (63%). That said there is a healthy pipeline of very early stage companies coming through.

The growth in patent registrations for this technology space has been steady throughout the last two decades, with a spike in the last five years, mainly due to the rise in connectivity at sea. China, followed by South Korea, the US, and Japan are the four largest producers of new patent registrations by country.

It is estimated that in 2020 the ship management software market will be worth $3.7 billion, growing to be worth $4.2 billion by 2025, a CAGR of 3.73%. Forecasted growth is marginally slower than other maritime technology sectors, but this is mainly due to the maturity of this market, and the high barriers to adoption of new technology.

Introduction to Ship Management Technology

Ship management technologies in this report include any software or software enabled service used in the commercial or technical management of merchant vessels. Technology to manage defence vessels and warships, small workboats, or fishing boats are excluded. Rather than any one technology, this encompasses a raft of complementary technologies that make up the market. A significant proportion of the companies in this sector provide cloud based data and analytics services, though there is also a growing number of IoT and artificial intelligence applications.

Market Overview

The ship management software market can be broadly split into six segments; procurement, bunker management, vessel performance and routing, crewing and training, end to end solutions, classification, and technical management, chartering and commercial management, and connectivity and data management. The major classification societies dominate the end to end fleet management technology space, and a small number of corporate entities hold dominant positions in vessel performance and navigation, but beyond that, the market is highly fragmented. A large number of startups and SMEs offer niche solutions across crewing and procurement.

Bunkers and Procurement

The largest operational expense for any ship is the procurement of bunkers (fuel). Bunkers vary across different ship types and trades, with specific fuels needed depending on the engine, operational requirements, and local regulations in the geography the ship is operating in. Most fuel is procured through bunker traders, who rely on a network of personal relationships with oil suppliers to fix and deliver supplies to ships as required. In the last five years, a growing number of bunker procurement platforms have started operating.

Operating out of London, BunkerEx offers live bunker pricing and the ability to purchase bunkers through a flexible forward pricing mechanism. The platform makes it possible to fix a bunkers purchase price six months in advance and pay 30 days after delivery. Working on a similar model, Bunker Connect and Bulugo provide digital bunker and marine lubricant procurement solutions. An outlier in this space is BunkerTrust, which, rather than developing bunker procurement solutions, has created a rating system for bunker suppliers, making it possible for ship owners and operators to share their experiences working with specific suppliers and brokers.

Beyond bunkers, a small number of startups have entered the wider ship supplies procurement space with the aim of improving the process of buying spares parts and supplies for ships. Shipskart, the India based startup is the most notable example of this. Having launched in 2017, their ship and fleet procurement platform makes it possible for masters and chief engineers to requisition parts from a mobile device, fleet management ashore are able to approve purchases online, and delivery to the vessel is arranged automatically.

Vessel performance and routing

The largest growth area we have seen in recent years across ship management is in vessel performance and routing technologies. The growth has come in both the number of solutions on offer and spend by shipowners and operators. This has been partly driven by enhanced environmental monitoring requirements, such as EU MRV, and partly by the commercial benefits of reduced fuel consumption.

This is also an area that has received significant investment activity in recent years. Last year, New York based Nautilus Labs raised an $11million Series A, from investors including Microsoft’s venture arm G2, bringing their total funding to $13 million. This is a competitive emerging space, with companies including Deepsea and ioCurrents raising slightly smaller amounts of money to fund the development of IoT and AI driven route optimisation systems. In response to the emerging ecosystem of startups entering this market, we have seen a recent increase in M&A activity too. Most recently, Copenhagen based performance monitoring SME COACH Solutions was acquired by Kongsberg. At the end of 2019, chart distribution and routing software providers Chartco and Marine Press merged to form OneOcean, and Japanese conglomerate Cornes Group acquired Global Navigation Solutions and Safe Navigation to create Voyager Worldwide.

Crewing and training

Despite all of the hype surrounding autonomous shipping in recent years, ensuring a supply of adequately trained seafarers is still of the utmost importance to the industry. Behind fuel, the crew is the largest operational expense that comes with running a ship and until very recently, crewing and training has been a highly analogue industry sector. The vast majority of training is still completed in person at designated centres around the world and almost all training certificates are issued in a paper format.

A number of companies are working on tackling this including Tapiit, an Isle of Man based training startup that has developed a global training booking platform and is also developing their own programmes that can be live streamed to vessels. There is also a great deal of progress being made in training delivery through the use of extended reality simulations. Companies such as Ocean Technologies Group, Fostech, Seabot XR, and OMS VR are all building platforms to deliver simulation and drill training using virtual reality. A small handful of companies are working to develop fully digital certificates too. US startup Pingle has developed a credential management platform for seafarers, making it possible for them to digitalise their paper certificates and for training establishments to issue digital certificates. Further, out of Singapore Navozyme and C-Log are two companies building blockchain based systems to make it possible for crew members to store and securely share digital certificates.

Though most crewing software is provided as part of an end to end solution, a number of dedicated crewing platforms have started getting traction in recent years. Three year old Martide has developed a dedicated crewing application that makes it easier for crewing managers to source, track, and engage crew members. The cloud based platform is designed to integrate with other systems such as ERP or fleet management solutions. Similarly, the Netherlands based C-Teleport’s crew travel booking platform is designed to integrate fully with other crewing and fleet management solutions. By automatically pulling data from other crewing solutions, the system makes it possible to book, change, and cancel flights from an app, without any manual data entry.

A newly emerging role for digital technology in crewing is the use of seafarer feedback in safety management. Though all ship management teams will collect near-miss data from their crews, in the vast majority of cases near-miss reports are completed and stored on paper, making them of limited use for analysis. Recently, a small number of companies have begun working on digitalising these processes to make it possible to analyse crew feedback and safety data at scale. Scoutbase has developed a mobile application that asks crews to anonymously submit feedback about life on board, their work, and their safety concerns. Working at a larger scale is industry not-for-profit HiLo which has developed a mathematical risk model for ships. HiLo uses near-miss reporting from thousands of ships to discover small deficiencies that could lead to a major incident, making it possible for HSEQ teams to rectify them before they develop.

End to end solutions, classification, and technical management

The vast majority of end to end fleet management solutions are provided by or owned by the major classification societies. DNV-GL and ABS both offer their own dedicated platforms and Lloyd’s Register acquired Hanseaticsoft, the developer of one of the leading cloud based solutions, in 2017. One of the leading independent solutions was Tero Marine. It still operates under its own brand but was acquired by Ocean Technologies Group (at the time Seagull) in April 2019. End to end solutions are usually made up of a series of modules covering everything including procurement, crewing, bunkering, technical management, performance monitoring, and HSEQ.

Outside of end to end fleet management platforms, there are a growing number of companies providing solutions to better enable specific jobs regarding the technical management of ships. Surveying ships is a key part of their technical management, but the job can be dangerous and costly. Working on minimising the risk and cost is Netherlands based RIMS BV. The startup provides industrial drone solutions to the shipping industry, making it possible to survey enclosed or difficult to reach spaces without putting a human physically at risk. The next evolution to this is enabling fully remote surveying, a capability that DNV-GL and Lloyd’s Register are both developing.

Tackling this problem in a different way, some companies have developed full digital twin capabilities. For example, UK based R2S (acquired by James Fisher in 2016), builds software that makes it possible to digitally capture and visualise any vessel. The model can be used to plan maintenance activities, reduce the need for surveyors to travel to ships, and reduce the likelihood of project cost or time overruns during dry docking. There are also a number of dedicated dry dock planning tools coming onto the market. Operating out of Norway, Maindeck has developed a software platform to assist with the planning and execution of dry dock maintenance periods. Also operating out of Norway is VesselMan, a cloud based dry docking, layup, and condition management tool.

Chartering, commercial, and cargo monitoring

A significant number of data and analytics companies focused on vessel and cargo tracking have been founded in recent years. One of the most well established providers in this space is AXSMarine. The French technology company has provided data solutions to charterers since 2000. AXS provides solutions across the dry and wet bulk markets, and container liner markets. But the expanding availability and rapidly reducing cost of AIS data has made a wide array of solutions commercially viable, putting pressure on established providers.

The best funded startup in the ship management sector is Spire; the micro satellite operator has launched a large constellation of listening satellites that gather maritime, aviation, and weather data. Spire provides satellite maritime AIS data via a set of APIs to application providers. Their customers include fleet management teams, charterers, brokers, and commodities traders. As the availability of data has increased, so too has the need for platforms that can organise and structure it. Shipfix, who closed a $4.5million investment round in December 2019, is developing a data management and messaging platform to make it easier for the dry bulk industry to collaborate. Similarly, Finland based Seaber is building a digital platform for bulk charterers and shipowners to work together and gain a data driven understanding of vessel performance.

Connectivity and data management

In a similar way to the chartering and commercial vertical, the availability of data for every other aspect of ship management has grown dramatically in recent years. Providing a continuous data connection between ship and shore has evolved into a necessity and managing the data, whether at sea or ashore is an increasingly complex task. Connectivity used to be the sole preserve of satellite operators, but a number of complementary providers have entered the market in the last decade. Operating out of Finland, KNL Networks has developed a terrestrial mesh network using high frequency radio. The network uses other vessel stations to bounce data to ground stations and has worldwide coverage for IoT applications and secure data communications. As well as providing network connections between ship and shore, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to manage networks on board. Wireless Maritime Services, is one of a handful of companies providing converged networks for ships that enable 4G, Wifi, and IoT radio transmissions across a vessel. Though these services have been pioneered in the passenger and offshore sectors, their use in regular merchant sectors is growing.

Data is generated by most activities conducted on board a modern vessel. Email, weather, navigation, engine, and security systems, to name a few, generate a vast amount of data between them. A number of integration platforms now exist to help fleet management teams develop a holistic view of a vessel or a whole fleet of ships. Norwegian SME Dualog provides a comprehensive data and IT management system that includes connectivity, cybersecurity, email and file transfers. Similarly, UK based StratumFive has recently launched an integration platform that makes it possible to parse data between multiple applications covering use cases including performance monitoring, piracy reporting, ship security and environmental compliance.

Market Landscape

There are 148 commercial organisations worldwide building software to support ship management activities. 53% of them are startups and 38% of them are SMEs. We are yet to see any companies achieve growth that supports them becoming a scaleup, and there are a small number of large corporate entities building technology for the sector, all of whom are either classification societies or original equipment manufacturers for the maritime and defence sectors.

Startup providers

Company Name	Company Status	Employee Count	Company Founded Year	Company short summary	Company Country	Thetius URL
3D Signals	Active Trading	1-10	2015	3DSignals helps manufacturers digitalize their machines to become an industry 4.0.	Israel	https://thetius.com/companies/3d-signals
Propulsion Analytics	Active Trading	1-10	2014	Extracting meaning from data.	Greece	https://thetius.com/companies/propulsion-analytics
Nautilus Labs	Active Trading	11-50	2016	Advancing the efficiency of ocean commerce.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/nautilus-labs
ioCurrents	Active Trading	11-50	2015	ioCurrents MarineInsight analytics platform gathers, analyses, and transmits vessel equipment data in real time to help on-board and shoreside operators make more informed decisions.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/iocurrents
Deepsea	Active Trading	11-50	2017	Your fleet at your fingertips	Greece	https://thetius.com/companies/deepsea
VesselMan	Active Trading	1-10	2015	Digital technical management	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/vesselman
C Teleport	Active Trading	1-10	2016	The only completely online marine travel agency.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/c-teleport
Ankeri	Active Trading	1-10	2016	Market ship performance. With Ankeri you keep your ships attractive to your clients and the environment	Iceland	https://thetius.com/companies/ankeri
Intelligent Cargo Systems	Active Trading	4-10	2017	Intelligent Cargo Systems’ technology helps you manage cargo loading and discharging more efficiently, saving fuel, time and money.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/intelligent-cargo-systems
We4Sea	Active Trading	1-10	2016	We4Sea provides the easiest, non-CAPEX monitoring solution for ships, making fuel efficiency and emission reduction easy, fast and affordable.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/we4sea
Maindeck	Active Trading	1-10	2016	Gain full control of your project’s progress, cost, incoming and outgoing reports throughout the dry-docking process.	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/maindeck
Haystack Magic	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Bluetooth asset tracking for enterprises.	Canada	https://thetius.com/companies/haystack-magic
Pingle	Active Trading	1-10	2014	A free maritime credential management platform.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/pingle
CaptainAI	Active Trading	1-10	2018	Making safe autonomous shipping a reality through simulated deep learning.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/captainai
Loginno	Active Trading	1-10	2014	Loginno is creating the world’s Internet-of-Shipping-Containers infrastructure.	Israel	https://thetius.com/companies/loginno
WhaleWashing	Active Trading	11-50	2018	Whalewashing is an automatic hull cleaning & diagnostic	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/whalewashing
Ship Reality	Active Trading	1-10	2018	Ship Reality is a mixed reality software with spatial computing for the shipping industry.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/ship-reality
Hefring Marine	Active Trading	1-10	2018	Guidance-driven operation at sea.	Iceland	https://thetius.com/companies/hefring-marine
Signal Ocean	Active Trading	51-250	2014	Shaping the future of commercial shipping	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/signal-ocean
Kpler	Active Trading	51-250	2014	Comprehensive and transparent commodity tracking.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/kpler
MARSEC Inc.	Active Trading	11-50	2014	MARSEC inc. is a multimodal transport optimization company	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/marsec-inc.
ClearLynx	Active Trading	11-50	2014	Independent bunker management platform	United Sates	https://thetius.com/companies/clearlynx
MariApps	Active Trading	51-250	2014	The future redefined	Singapore	https://thetius.com/companies/mariapps
Vessel Performance Solutions	Active Trading	1-10	2014	Provides performance data analysis to increase fuel efficiency.	Denmark	https://thetius.com/companies/vessel-performance-solutions
Offshore Navigation	Active Trading	1-10	2014			https://thetius.com/companies/offshore-navigation
Hydroswarm	Active Trading	1-10	2015	Hydroswarm designs intelligent technologies for marine autonomy and data collection.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/hydroswarm
PT-Shipmanagement	Active Trading	1-10	2015	Keep moving	Germany	https://thetius.com/companies/pt-shipmanagement
Tres Solutions	Active Trading	1-10	2015	Better data, bigger impact	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/tres-solutions
Medassist Online	Active Trading	1-10	2015	Medassist Online’s solutions will help you to provide better and faster medical care.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/medassist-online
Hive Maritime	Active Trading	4-10	2015	Hive Maritime is a MIT start-up bringing efficiency and cost savings to the maritime shipping industry.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/hive-maritime
Ship Data Centre	Active Trading	11-50	2015	Internet of ships open platform	Japan	https://thetius.com/companies/ship-data-centre
RIMS	Active Trading	11-50	2015	Robotica in maintenance strategies	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/rims
Fostech	Active Trading	1-10	2015	Ground-breaking mixed reality solutions for the global marine and maritime industries.	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/fostech
ScanReach – On-board Wireless Connectivity	Active Trading	1-10	2015	Welcome to ScanReach ScanReach is a Maritime IoT company based in Bergen, Norway. Over the last 4 years we have developed a wireless connectivity platform enabling personnel and asset control in complex and confined steel environments.		https://thetius.com/companies/scanreach—on-board-wireless-connectivity
Metis Cybertechnology	Active Trading	1-10	2016	Information intelligence at the disposal of the global maritime industry.	Greece	https://thetius.com/companies/metis-cybertechnology
Blockchain Labs for Open Collaboration	Active Trading	4-10	2016	Developing sustainable, resilient and inclusive digital infrastructures.	Denmark	https://thetius.com/companies/blockchain-labs-for-open-collaboration
HiLo	Active Trading	1-10	2016	Maritime industry initiative using risk analysis to reduce fatalities.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/hilo
Linergrid	Active Trading	1-10	2016	LinerGrid is a cloud-based optimization tool aimed at optimizing networks in liner shipping.	Denmark	https://thetius.com/companies/linergrid
OMS VR	Active Trading	11-50	2016	OMS-VR is VR based training	Ukraine	https://thetius.com/companies/oms-vr
Dimeq	Active Trading	1-10	2016	Dimeq monitoring system, safety is our priority	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/dimeq
Bunker Connect	Active Trading	1-10	2016	Bunker Connect offers a digital bunker platform and brokerage solution that transforms your processes and saves you time and costs.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/bunker-connect
CargoSnap	Active Trading	1-10	2016	CargoSnap easily digitizes your files, documents and visual data.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/cargosnap
SailRouter	Active Trading	4-10	2016	SailRouter is all-in-one solution for reducing fuel consumption of merchant ships.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/sailrouter
24marine.com	Active Trading	1-10	2016	Marine and cargo smart surveyors	Panama	https://thetius.com/companies/24marine.com
TrustedDocks	Active Trading	11-50	2017	TrustedDocks monitors the worlds shipbuilding, repairing and scrapping activities.	Germany	https://thetius.com/companies/trusteddocks
Threatspan	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Enabling safe innovation in maritime & offshore.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/threatspan
Claritecs	Active Trading	11-50	2017	Claritecs is built on maritime expertise to empower decision makers with data-driven insights	Singapore	https://thetius.com/companies/claritecs
V360	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Immersive technology for the yachting and maritime industries.	Spain	https://thetius.com/companies/v360
ShipsKart	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Shipskart is a reliable and efficient procurement system for the maritime industry.	India	https://thetius.com/companies/shipskart
Geollect	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Geollect is igniting geospatial intelligence to power the next era of Maritime Security	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/geollect
CreWin	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Find your most suitable job & employee	Turkey	https://thetius.com/companies/crewin
BunkerMetric	Active Trading	1-10	2017	BunkerPlanner is a bunker procurement optimization tool.	Denmark	https://thetius.com/companies/bunkermetric
Martide	Active Trading	11-50	2017	Martide assists with crew management.	Hong Kong	https://thetius.com/companies/martide
BunkerTrust	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Your source of bunker intelligence	Danmark	https://thetius.com/companies/bunkertrust
Scoutbase	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Real-time leading safety indicators.	Denmark	https://thetius.com/companies/scoutbase
BunkerEx	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Quickly find the best bunker port for your voyage.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/bunkerex
Group Nautical	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Bringing emerging technologies to the maritime industry	Singapore	https://thetius.com/companies/group-nautical
Parable BV	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Creating immersive, interactive training experiences using virtual reality.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/parable-bv
Navozyme	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Blockchain enabled solutions transforming maritime, ahead of time	Singapore	https://thetius.com/companies/navozyme
SEAFAR	Active Trading	1-10	2017	Remote operation and supervision	Belgium	https://thetius.com/companies/seafar
nauticAi	Active Trading	1-10	2018	nauticAi creates smart awareness solutions for shipping operators.	Finland	https://thetius.com/companies/nauticai
Shipfix	Active Trading	26-50	2018	Building the shipping community around data.	France	https://thetius.com/companies/shipfix
Orderstate	Active Trading	1-10	2018	Orderstate helps your company track, collaborate and automate.	Greece	https://thetius.com/companies/orderstate
SeaBot XR	Active Trading	1-10	2018	SeaBot XR creates smartphone based immersive virtual reality training applications.	England	https://thetius.com/companies/seabot-xr
Deep Blue Globe	Active Trading	1-10	2018	Establishing autonomous navigation powered by artificial intelligence considering real time maritime traffic and weather conditions.	Germany	https://thetius.com/companies/deep-blue-globe
ShipIn Systems	Active Trading	1-10	2018	ShipIn delivers computer vision and operational analytics solutions to the maritime industry.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/shipin-systems
Seaber	Active Trading	1-10	2018	Digital platform for bulk shipping	Finland	https://thetius.com/companies/seaber
Tapiit Maritime	Active Trading	1-10	2019	Tapiit Maritime gives you access to the best training providers globally.	Isle of Man	https://thetius.com/companies/tapiit-maritime
Citrine Marine	Active Trading	1-3	2019	Citrine Marine Inspection Services specializes in the inspection of vessels and offices.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/citrine-marine
Bunkertrace	Active Trading	4-10	2019	Full visibility of your bunkering operations.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/bunkertrace
Alfred Maritime	Active Trading	4-10	2019	Digitalising the maritime industry	Germany	https://thetius.com/companies/alfred-maritime
MarcoPay	Active Trading	1-10	2019	MarCoPay is an electronic money platform for seafarers	Philippines	https://thetius.com/companies/marcopay
OneOceanGroup	Active Trading	51-250	2019	The OneOcean platform provides all the tools in 1 place, from fleet management, navigation, compliance, operational reporting & meeting safety obligations.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/oneoceangroup
Relmar	Ceased Trading	1-10	2016	A modular asset management platform.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/relmar
Massterly	Subsidiary	1-10	2018	Massterly is a full-service autonomous marine shipping company.	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/massterly
ShipBoot	Ceased Trading	1-10	2016	Leading ship owners to buyers worldwide.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/shipboot
Z/S Wellness	Ceased Trading	1-10	2017	Z/S Wellness navigates your crew towards better health.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/z/s-wellness
Seawise	Ceased Trading	1-10	2016	Seawise provides an open platform to enable big data and analytics solutions for the optimization of commercially operated vessels.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/seawise
bulugo		1-10	2018	Get smarter with the marine bunker fuel and lubricants procurement platform. Bulugo simplifies business, reduces cost and improves operational efficiency.		https://thetius.com/companies/bulugo

SME Providers

Company Name	Company Status	Employee Count	Company Founded Year	Company short summary	Company Country	Thetius URL
Spire	Active Trading	51-250	2012	Spire is a data and analytics company that collects data from space to solve problems on Earth.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/spire
Windward	Active Trading	51-250	2010	Risk insights for the people who keep the seas safe, protect maritime borders, and save lives.	Israel	https://thetius.com/companies/windward
KNL Networks	Active Trading	1-10	2011	KNL Networks made a global dedicated secure end-to-end IoT solution for the maritime industry.	Finland	https://thetius.com/companies/knl-networks
CargoSense, Inc.	Active Trading	1-10	2012	Gain real-time visibility into your logistics — and uncover hidden costs and risk.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/cargosense,-inc.
Offshore Monitoring	Active Trading	11-50	2007	Offshore Monitoring provides monitoring systems and sensor solutions for the maritime industries.	Hong Kong	https://thetius.com/companies/offshore-monitoring
Marorka	Active Trading	1-10	2002	Excellence in maritime efficiency with data driven analytics.	Iceland	https://thetius.com/companies/marorka
Catapult	Active Trading	51-250	2007	Freight rate management and analytics solutions that give you the edge.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/catapult
ARK Technology	Active Trading	4-10	2013	ARK Technology is an environmental management company that provides software solutions and advisory services for the maritime industry.	Iceland	https://thetius.com/companies/ark-technology
Keelcrab	Active Trading	1-10	2012	KeelCrab is a drone used for automated hull cleaning.	Italy	https://thetius.com/companies/keelcrab
Scubacraft	Active Trading	1-10	2011	Scubacraft is a high performance submersible watercraft.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/scubacraft
Marbnet	Active Trading	1-10		Marbnet is a unique  business network aimed solely at the Maritime Industry.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/marbnet
Ocean Technologies Group	Active Trading	51-100	2020	A global learning and operational technology company, Ocean Technologies Group help to solve challenges facing the shipping and maritime industry.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/ocean-technologies-group
R2S	Acquired	11-50	1992	Explore new and proven digital twin solutions.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/r2s
Kyma	Active Trading	1-10	1965	Provides tools and products for vessel performance monitoring	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/kyma
SpecTec	Active Trading	51-250	1985	Improving productivity and safety through innovative technology	Cyprus	https://thetius.com/companies/spectec
Japan Marine Science Inc	Active Trading	51-250	1985	Provides global maritime surveys, and consulting services.	Japan	https://thetius.com/companies/japan-marine-science-inc
Weathernews Inc.	Active Trading	51-250	1986	Specialist weather information and risk assessment	Japan	https://thetius.com/companies/weathernews-inc.
Tero Marine	Active Trading	11-50	1986	The provider of TM Master, a fleet management software helping ship owners optimizing their shipping operations	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/tero-marine
Aerospace & Marine International	Active Trading	51-100	1991	AMI improves the safety, efficiency, and accuracy (SEA) of offshore operations.	United Sates	https://thetius.com/companies/aerospace-&-marine-international
Benefit	Active Trading	1-10	1992	The evolution of inspections on the go.	Greece	https://thetius.com/companies/benefit
Dualog	Active Trading	11-50	1994	Dualog provides groundbreaking maritime technology with a digital platform which ensures that internet, email and cloud services work reliably and securely onboard your vessels.	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/dualog
BASS	Active Trading	51-250	1997	Streamlining marine operations.	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/bass
Star Information Systems	Active Trading	11-50	1997	Reduce maintenance and logistics cost. Maximize profitability and safety.	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/star-information-systems
Pole Star	Active Trading	51-250	1998	Control, compliance, and confidence	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/pole-star
Martek Marine	Active Trading	51-250	2000	Ensuring compliance with potable water testing regulations	England	https://thetius.com/companies/martek-marine
AXS MARINE	Active Trading	11-50	2000	All-in-one chartering solutions	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/axs-marine
RightShip	Active Trading	11-50	2001	Working to enhance maritime safety and environmental sustainability	Australian	https://thetius.com/companies/rightship
Dataloy	Active Trading	1-10	2002	Voyage management system	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/dataloy
Propulsion Dynamics	Active Trading	26-50	2002	Beyond monitoring	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/propulsion-dynamics
ChartWorld Group	Active Trading	11-50	2002	ChartWorld International is a value-added reseller of digital electronic charts for marine applications and has been delivering digital data (charts and publications) for SOLAS, Inland Waterways, and workboat use since 2002. ChartWorld is an authorized…	Germany	https://thetius.com/companies/chartworld-group
Veson Nautical	Active Trading	51-250	2003	Veson Nautical delivers software and solutions that help clients chart the future of shipping.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/veson-nautical
MESPAS	Active Trading	1-10	2004	Maritime software solutions	Switzerland	https://thetius.com/companies/mespas
Wireless Maritime Services	Active Trading	51-250	2004	WMS designs, deploys and manages cellular, IoT and Wi-Fi at sea solutions.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/wireless-maritime-services
GNS	Acquired	51-250	2012	Technology that simplifies navigation onboard and ashore. Improve compliance and reduce costs. Get one fixed price for your entire annual navigation supply.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/gns
Q88 LLC	Active Trading	11-50	2006	Q88 is a maritime company specializing in SaaS-based subscription solutions.	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/q88-llc
FleetMon	Active Trading	1-10	2007	Tracker with ship and port database	Germany	https://thetius.com/companies/fleetmon
Shipgaz Training	Active Trading	1-10	2007	Maritime training with instant certification.	Sweden	https://thetius.com/companies/shipgaz-training
Shipadmin	Active Trading	1-10	2007	Our main focus is on the needs of the modern vessel fleet throughout the world. Some of the biggest and most innovative vessel owners in the world rely on our products in their everyday work, both at sea and shore.  Flexibility is a keyword for Shipadmin	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/shipadmin
VesselsValue	Active Trading	51-250	2008	Online valuation, AIS and market intelligence service	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/vesselsvalue
ARL Consulting	Active Trading	11-50	2008	Apps, custom built to improve your transport business	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/arl-consulting
Hanseaticsoft	Active Trading	11-50	2009	Next generation business applications for shipping companies. Acquired by Lloyd’s Register, operated independently.	Germany	https://thetius.com/companies/hanseaticsoft
Arkevista	Active Trading	1-10	2009	Giving companies a better view of their markets.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/arkevista
GeoGarage	Active Trading	1-3	2009	Pathfinder of the seas	France	https://thetius.com/companies/geogarage
StratumFive Limited	Active Trading	1-10	2009	a big picture company. With over 12,000 vessels subscribed, processing more than 7.8bn data values per day. Podium is the first true maritime integration platform.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/stratumfive-limited
Orca Informatics	Active Trading	1-10	2010	Orka Informatics is a research and development company.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/orca-informatics
VIKAND	Active Trading	11-50	2010	Expert Medical Advice on Demand (former MHG Medical Management)	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/vikand
COACH Solutions	Acquired	11-50	2011	Unlock the full performance potential of your vessels. Acquired by Kongsberg.	Denmark	https://thetius.com/companies/coach-solutions
Maritime Trainer	Active Trading	11-50	2011	3D Virtual reality supported training activities	Turkey	https://thetius.com/companies/maritime-trainer
Ocean Manager	Active Trading	11-50	2011	360° view of vessel operation management	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/ocean-manager
Oceanfile	Active Trading	1-10	2011	Charting the safer course	Ireland	https://thetius.com/companies/oceanfile
MarTrust	Active Trading	1-10	2011	MarTrust is a global maritime financial solutions company focusing on Shipping Supplier Payments, Maritime Payment, Shipping Crew Finance, Port payments and currency solutions to the maritime industry worldwide.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/martrust
RadiantFleet	Active Trading	1-10	2012	RadiantFleet accelerates innovative companies in ports worldwide.	Cyprus	https://thetius.com/companies/radiantfleet
Satmind	Active Trading	1-10	2012	SeaBrowser is a onboard internet platform.	England	https://thetius.com/companies/satmind
JiBE	Active Trading	11-50	2013	The complete solution for cloud-based maritime ERP	Marshall Islands	https://thetius.com/companies/jibe
Pole Star Space Applications	Active Trading	51-250	1998	At Pole Star we develop pioneering technologies to keep you at the forefront of maritime insight & empower your real-world decisions. Enquire with us today.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/pole-star-space-applications
IB Corporate	Active Trading	51-250		The english official Twitter page for IB software solutions and your source for major announcements and events	Italy	https://thetius.com/companies/ib-corporate

Corporate Providers

Company Name	Company Status	Employee Count	Company Founded Year	Company short summary	Company Country	Thetius URL
DNV GL	Active Trading	1,001	1864	Safer, smarter, greener	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/dnv-gl
Eniram	Acquired		2005	Acquired by Wartsila 2016.	Finland	https://thetius.com/companies/eniram
Lloyd’s Register	Active Trading	1,001	1760	Remote solutions.	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/lloyd’s-register
Kongsberg Gruppen	Active Trading	1K-5K	1814	Market oriented performance with technology at the core.	Norway	https://thetius.com/companies/kongsberg-gruppen
Wärtsilä	Active Trading	10K-50K	1834	Enabling sustainable societies with smart technology	Finland	https://thetius.com/companies/wärtsilä
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS)	Active Trading	1,001	1862	Low carbon shipping outlook	United States	https://thetius.com/companies/american-bureau-of-shipping-(abs)
Interschalt	Acquired		1954	Acquired by Cargotec	United States of America	https://thetius.com/companies/interschalt
Trelleborg	Active Trading	1,001	1905	Turning challenges into new opportunities.	Sweden	https://thetius.com/companies/trelleborg
Fugro	Active Trading	5K-10K	1962	We are the world’s leading provider of geo-intelligence and asset integrity solutions for large constructions, infrastructure and natural resources.	Netherlands	https://thetius.com/companies/fugro
Inmarsat	Active Trading	1K-5K	1979	Connecting the world	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/inmarsat
BMT Group	Active Trading	251-1K	1985	Delivering client focussed solutions to projects in the energy, ports, mining, defence and transport fields, world-wide	United Kingdom	https://thetius.com/companies/bmt-group
NAPA	Active Trading	251-1K	1989	Software, services and data analysis for ship design and operation.	Finland	https://thetius.com/companies/napa
Solverminds	Active Trading	251-1000	2003	Solutions and technologies	Singapore	https://thetius.com/companies/solverminds

Funding, investment and M&A

Since 2010, $280million of venture capital has been invested in startups developing software aimed at the fleet management market. This is a relatively mature maritime technology sector, with the majority of startups at the venture stage (63%). That said there is a healthy pipeline of very early stage companies coming through.

The median average funding raised by startups in the sector is $1.2million. The mean average invested in seed stage startups in the sector is $162,000 and the mean average invested in venture stage startups is $12.8million.

The maturity of this technology space is demonstrated by the relatively high volume of M&A activity. Over the last decade classification societies and original equipment manufacturers have conducted the most acquisitions. But there is a new pattern emerging of private equity houses acquiring and rolling up complementary or competitive services into a single company. The best recent example of this is the establishment of Ocean Technologies Group by Oakley Capital. Ocean Technologies Group has seen two of the leading maritime training technology providers, Seagull and Videotel rolled into a single company along with Tero Marine, Maritime Training Services and Coex. Rollups like this create a significant presence in these markets where customer acquisition is expensive. A similar pattern is emerging among digital chart distributors, with OneOcean and Voyager Worldwide developing a serious market presence through a number of recent mergers and acquisitions.

Patent Registrations

Worldwide there are 827 patents registered relating to technology that supports ship management activities. The growth in patent registrations for this technology space has been steady throughout the last two decades, with a spike in the last five years, mainly due to the rise in connectivity at sea. Rather than classification societies or ship management providers, the majority of recent patent applications have come from shipyards, academic institutions, and large electronics manufacturing companies. China, followed by South Korea, the US, and Japan are the four largest producers of new patent registrations by country.

The most popular patent classifications in this sector relate to data processing and transmission systems, specifically with reference to marine traffic control systems, collaboration and project workflow systems, network optimisation, and data transmission control procedures. The leading patent applicants in this sector are Shanghai Maritime University, Dalian Maritime University, Lee Woo Sung (an individual), Daewoo Shipbuilding, and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology.   A CSV of all relevant patent data is available on request.

Industry adoption

Despite the view that ship owners and managers are technologically conservative, the ship management software market is one of the most developed and mature shipping technology sectors. Almost without exception, for the last ten years, fleet management teams around the world have been using some sort of specifically developed software system, the majority of which are listed in this report. Most of the systems in popular use are end to end management solutions, covering everything from manning to procurement.

But a new generation of solutions has begun getting traction in recent years. Many of these systems are being developed by startups founded in the last five years rather than the established providers and are in response to quickly changing market needs. EU MRV emission reporting requirements, for example, have led to a range of new emissions tracking solutions coming mostly from startups. Similarly, IMO 2020 sulphur cap regulations have pushed many entrepreneurs to start companies offering bunker procurement, rating, and tracking technologies. By elegantly solving a market problem it is possible for a small team to get significant market traction quickly.

But a key barrier to scale lies in how those single point solutions integrate into wider ship management activities. The combination of complex processes and the volume of data produced by a large fleet of ships makes it difficult and time consuming for a management team to use multiple incompatible systems. Further, fleet management software is generally sticky; switching providers is a big commitment with implications for multiple stakeholders including the ship’s crews, class societies, and charterers. Single point solutions offered by startups have only shown significant traction where they solve a problem that is not solved well by the end to end providers, and the best funded startups have been forced to rely on channel partnerships to distribute their solutions. Those providers who do show significant traction are often acquired by end to end providers, for example, HanseaticSoft by Lloyd’s Register in 2017, Tero Marine by Seagull/Ocean Technologies Group in 2019, or COACH Solutions by Kongsberg in 2020.

Market size and opportunities

It is estimated that in 2020 the ship management software market will be worth $3,665 million, growing to be worth $4,401 million by 2025, a CAGR of 3.73%. Forecasted growth is marginally slower than other maritime technology sectors, but this is mainly due to the maturity of this market, and the high barriers to adoption of new technology.

More than half of ship management technology providers are startups that only offer a solution to a single problem or pain point. Though many of these startups are growing fast, it is clear that it is not sustainable. This presents two interesting opportunities, the first is in reducing the barriers for startups who want to integrate with larger solution providers, and the second is in mergers and acquisitions.

Those providers who offer end to end solutions and have significant market share cannot compete with the speed of execution offered by startups who are new to the space. Similarly, startups cannot easily compete against well entrenched end to end solution providers. But application programming interfaces (APIs) do provide the technological infrastructure to make it possible for startups and established solution providers to quickly build partnerships. A number of well established solution providers are building platforms based on API technology to share and manage data between multiple applications. DNV GL’s Veracity platform, which surpassed 1 million service subscriptions in 2018, offers the ability to integrate single point software solutions into a larger marketplace via APIs. Similarly, Inmarsat’s Certified Application Provider programme enables solution providers to integrate with an API that makes it possible to push and pull data from ships via Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband satellite connectivity offering. Another route for end to end providers to grow their service offering is by acquiring startups and SME providers. This is becoming an increasingly competitive space, with OEMs, classification societies, and private equity houses all trying to build deal flow.

Conclusion

The ship management technology market is worth $3.7 billion annually. It is one of the most mature software sectors in the maritime industry and is therefore unlikely to grow significantly faster than the world fleet grows. It is estimated that the ship management technology market will turn over $4.4 billion by 2025, achieving a CAGR of 3.7%.

Despite the slow overall growth, there are pockets of rapid growth that appear as a reaction to regulatory drivers. EU MRV and IMO 2020 are two recent examples where new regulations have led to booms in sub sectors of this market including vessel tracking and bunker procurement. Though a well designed single point solution can get significant traction quickly, they often exist alongside an end to end solution, usually provided by a classification society or OEM.

It is very difficult for startups to build a significant market position, even when they are well funded. But API marketplaces are at the early stages of gaining traction in the industry and have been shown to reduce the friction for startups entering the space. We are yet to see any startup operating exclusively in ship management achieve enough growth, either by equity funding or revenue, to be classified as a scaleup. The most common path for startups entering this space is that they become SMEs serving a small customer base or are acquired in a trade sale.

There has been significant growth in M&A activity in this space in the last three years, with OEMs, classification societies, and private equity investors all taking an active role in acquiring new services. Of particular interest is the pattern of investors acquiring multiple competitors that represent significant market share. Oakley Capital and Cornes Group have both made significant rollups in the last 12 months, capturing significant market share in crew training and chart distribution respectively.