The ship owner must have complete control over the ship's operational data. This is one of the main challenges in the digitalization of the shipping industry, where data passes through original equipment manufacturers, managers, charterers, ports, and technology platforms. While everyone can create value from this data, the agreement on the boundaries and ownership rights has become very complex.
Data Ownership Challenges
Currently, ship operational data includes information such as engine performance, fuel consumption, equipment status, navigation, cargo, weather conditions, and records generated by the crew. This data may pass through various systems during a voyage, each of which can create value in some way. However, the agreement on who owns this data has turned into a complex dilemma.
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Some industry stakeholders believe that the generated data should remain under the control of the ship owner. This view has been supported by many in recent surveys. However, once the data leaves the ship, more commercial and legal issues arise. With advancements in artificial intelligence, aggregated operational histories become more valuable and their reuse becomes more difficult.
Difference Between Ownership and Access
Gert-Jan Panken, Managing Director and Vice President of Inmarsat Maritime, emphasizes that the ship owner must maintain ownership and control of this data, while sharing should only occur with clear permissions and for specific purposes. The challenge is to prevent a model where ownership protection is used as an excuse to keep information in proprietary systems.
Jai Dis, CEO of GTMaritime, states that the shipping industry has focused too much on the question of data ownership, while the real issue lies in access and interpretability of the data. He says that data generated during normal operations should belong to the ship owner, and the real challenge is over access and the ability to interpret the information. According to Dis, the ship owner should receive raw data and ways to interpret it as their fundamental rights.
Swan Brooks, CEO of ScanReach, emphasizes that data ownership should be in the hands of the ship operator, and the responsibility of infrastructure providers is to reliably transfer information. He also points out that many vendors still view data as a tool to retain control, while standard access to this data is much more important than endless discussions about ownership.
Challenges of Fairness and Data Sharing
Many experts emphasize that not all data is created equal. Antonis Malaksyanakis, founder and CEO of HarborLab, believes that operational records should belong to the entity that produced them, while insights generated through investment in software, analysis, or specific expertise can belong to the party that created that added value.
Pradeep Chawla, CEO of MarinePals, points out that the need for fairness is unavoidable here. He says that a small owner with three ships can benefit from analyzing data related to engine failures in 300 ships, but this agreement looks different when an equipment manufacturer uses customer data to improve pricing for spare parts or maintenance policies. Sharing should create value for all participants, not just enhance one party's informational advantage.
In the end, there is a need for balance and transparency in data sharing. Ship owners will only agree to share data when they know what information is being published, what information they will receive, and what business risks they are taking.
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