Types of Marine Technology: Future Prediction of Marine Transport

Now, in this era of technological advancement, progress in every industry is only possible with the adoption of the latest technology. Every field, especially the transportation sector, which is called the backbone of the country's supply management system, needs to quickly adopt technological evolution for its survival. The marine shipping industry, one of the most extensive means of transportation, is rapidly advancing with the support of advanced technology.

The improvements and implementation of advanced marine technology will play a vital role in the future growth of this industry. The significant advancements in this sector include smart shipping (use of advanced technology), propulsion robotic systems (a system that works with air pressure), and sensors (GPS technology). The well-trained ship engineers in this field of marine shipping are contributing to the development of this industry.

As per source, the marine market reached approximately US$381.69 billion in 2024. However, the industry is still facing various challenges, including high maintenance and a spike in fuel prices globally.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the marine sector contributes 80% of world trade revenue and creates more jobs and opportunities. As the world moves toward the adaptation of the latest technologies in different sectors, the Marine industry has also equipped itself with innovation and automated technology to tackle supply chain issues.

These advanced technologies and Artificial Intelligence integration help the industry address problems and provide optimized solutions. We explore in this article; how advanced technology has transformed the traditional marine sector.

Current Trends and Challenges in the Marine Transport Industry:

The Marine industry is the most used source of transporting goods across the world. This sector of the economy uses cargo ships to transport products worldwide. Marine shipping faces numerous challenges, such as route inefficiencies and supply chain disruptions. These kinds of issues impact shipping operations and involve high risk if done manually by old tactics. In the modern era of technological advancement, marine transport is required to adopt new advanced technologies for its operations, including route optimization, supply chain management, and risk calculation.

The Advancement in Marine Industry

The shipping industry is now replacing older methods with advanced technology that optimizes overall workload. Older techniques require much time and effort and are more likely to cause human errors.

Let's explore the advanced technologies that are being used in Marine Shipping.

Artificial Intelligence:

Artificial Intelligence reduces the need for humans to perform repetitive tasks. In 2024, marine transport reported specific problems that it faces in shipping: Most prominently, it struggles with route optimization calculations, faces safety and accident risks, and has potential maintenance issues on ships, which are figured out manually by the shipping crew. Utilizing Artificial Intelligence, all repetitive and complex tasks are managed automatically with in one click, including route optimization, safe decision-making, and supply chain.

Advanced AI autonomous vessel navigation helps to boost the ships' efficiency without compromising safety. According to CB Insights research, more than 75% of maritime accidents are caused by human negligence and delays in making quick and appropriate decisions. These shipping accidents directly impact the financial condition of shipping companies with high costs.

Cybersecurity:

The maritime industry is one of the most important industries, playing an important role in the transportation of goods. Modern ships are equipped with the latest technologies and software, so potential hackers may interfere with the software and harm the ships' operations. Modern ships are equipped with technologies that help them to build connections with each other using minimal internet access to transfer or perform marine operations without any risk of hackers.

However, there is still security and cyber security risk in the maritime industry as a hacker uses new tactics to hack and interfere in operations to get access to information and data. There are still safety gaps in the maritime industry that should be addressed to streamline operations and protect digital data and assets from hackers. Advanced technology and smart devices are being used by different companies to make their operation more efficient, improve safety, and deliver high-quality service to customers.

Big Data and IoT:

In today's digital era, a company's most important asset is its data; the marine industry comprises a large amount of data including container information, destinations, ship maintenance, fuel consumption, logistics processes, and other potential risks at sea. This data helps companies to perform a data-driven approach and monitor real-time shipping operations. Companies in maritime now use advanced technologies and up-to-date data to control some required elements to interface in shipping operations.

As per reputable sources, the IoT industry in maritime is expected to grow at a rate of 6.2% from 2020 to 2027, and the number of IoT units used in ships is projected to reach approximately 30.9 billion by 2025. Moreover, with the help of digital data artificial intelligence analyzes and makes automatic decisions to perform particular tasks.

Hybrid Propulsion:

Modern ships' propulsion systems are no longer equipped with diesel engines that emit carbon and cause noise pollution. With the increasing demands for less carbon emissions and eco-friendly approaches, marine ships are equipped with new propulsion system technologies (Hybrid Propulsion) comprising diesel engines and battery power to reduce carbon emissions.

This hybrid propulsion system reduces carbon emissions and helps operate the ship more efficiently and with better control by using technology to monitor engine status. The system allows the captain or operators to switch between the diesel engine and battery power for low-speed cruising. This enables modern ships to achieve eco-friendly, Co2 emission-free travel with significantly lower noise levels than diesel engines.

This new propulsion system helps marine ships to recover in situations where the diesel engine fails at sea; as the battery-powered propulsion serves as an alternative source to operate the ship. As per the latest reports, the Hybrid propulsion system is an important source in reducing 40% of NOx and up to 30% of the fuel usage for combustion. After the analysis of these statistics, companies now use different hybrid propulsion technologies based on their operational duration, mileage and speed requirements. As per the report by Fortune Business

Insights: The recent global market size of hybrid propulsion is projected to reach USD 11.59 billion by 2030.

Sensor Technology:

Many industries use advanced artificial intelligence to replace repetitive tasks with automated processes. AI uses collected data from sensors to analyze and perform specific operations. Many transportation industries use advanced sensors to analyze current operations, equipment, and machine functions. With this sensor technology, ship operators will get efficient data in real-time that will help technicians to analyze issues in specific components without their manually checking.

Companies can also remotely access data from each sensor and use it to indicate the status of ship components to improve the efficiency and safety of cargo operations and ships. The sensors commonly used in ships include speed logs, temperature sensors, and pitch sensorDWA.

Autonomous shipping:

There seems a big change in autonomous technology used in modern vehicles. Companies are also building up fully automated ships to reduce human interference every time. These automation systems are now advanced enough to choose optimal routes, identify hurdles during transportation, and detect obstacles to avoid accidents. The data shows about 75% to 96% of ship accidents are caused by human negligence.

The use of autonomous or semi-autonomous systems in ships helps to avoid accidents with high efficiency, Optimize routing, and enhance the safety of ships by gathering a bunch of data to identify and prevent collisions. This autonomous technology comprises different components, including cameras, sensors, LiDAR, and advanced software that work together to achieve efficient responses to gather data and make informed and efficient decisions. Major startups, such as San Francisco-based Shone, are developing fully automated systems for existing cargo ships to reduce the need for onboard crew and minimize human errors.

Future of the Marine Industry:

As mentioned earlier, the marine industry is a popular and one of the main sources in the supply of goods between countries. Businesses use cargo ships to export their products and conduct international trade. The industry has been evolving with major advanced technologies. The cargo companies are using the latest technologies to make their operations smoother. Predictions suggest the marine industry will likely grow at a rate of 2% between 2024 to 2028.

Analyzing this growth, companies should equip their existing ships with modern technology to ensure safety and a much better cargo experience for customers. By integrating smart technology chips, artificial intelligence, and advanced sensors, ships can achieve maximum efficiency in the future. Carbon emission and eco-friendliness is a major concern of the marine industry to achieve full decarbonization by 2050.