Disconnected systems and AI hype are driving digital fatigue in shipping, warns OrbitMI
Shipping’s drive to digitalise risks slowing itself down as fragmented software, weak digital training and growing pressure to adopt artificial intelligence add complexity to operational and commercial decisions, according to OrbitMI.
OrbitMI warns that the sector is entering a period of ‘digital fatigue’: growing scepticism and frustration when technology fails to deliver the promised simplicity or measurable productivity and performance improvement gains. After years of adding platforms and bolt-on applications, many teams still transfer data manually, work across separate dashboards and adapt established processes to generic interfaces. This makes each new digital purchase harder to justify and can delay the adoption of technology that would deliver genuine value.
Egil Husby, Chief Executive Officer, OrbitMI, commented: “Shipping has accumulated technology faster than it has connected it. Commercial and operational teams may have access to more data than ever, yet still spend too much time moving between systems, reconciling conflicting information and deciding which alert matters. This creates more work at precisely the point when technology is supposed to support faster decisions.
“The first wave of AI tools can remove repetitive work and draw attention to important changes but provide little or no insight on how a recommendation was reached and when human validation is required.
“Confidence will be lost quickly if AI just produces another layer of alerts or asks people to trust outputs they cannot verify. What users need are tools that are truly collaborative and are fully integrated in their workflows; always present but never intrusive. This is the second wave of AI.”
OrbitMI argues that the next phase of maritime digitalisation should focus on making the technology already in use more coherent. Operators need systems, data feeds and reports to work together within a workspace aligned with their own commercial and operational processes. Effective decision support should identify what requires attention, explain why it matters and recommend a practical response while there is still time to influence the outcome.
Critically, human expertise remains central to that model. Managing a voyage can be a very complex process, and balancing its objectives and constraints is sometimes more an art than a science. Therefore, the operations manager needs to stay in control. Specialists such meteorologists and marine engineers can provide context, advice and verification when a decision requires an operational judgement call. AI should be used selectively to reduce manual work and improve access to relevant information, with responsibility for the final decision remaining with the operator.
OrbitMI has been investing in this approach through the acquisition of AI specialist AuQub and maritime advisory and voyage optimisation business Gale Force, alongside the expansion of its maritime, product and technology leadership over the past 18 months. These investments are shaping the company’s response to the fragmentation and loss of confidence that underpin digital fatigue.
OrbitMI says it will unveil a new platform in the coming weeks that will redefine the way ship owners and operators harness the power of their data for commercial and operational decisions. The new platform will connect operators’ existing systems and data within a workspace built around their own workflows, combining proactive, AI-supported recommendations with access to human maritime expertise.