Maritime and port startups are proliferating worldwide, with 528 of them now based in 45 countries across five continents, according to a report by Wilson Sons.
The report highlights the growing role of startups in addressing maritime operations challenges and promoting innovation and technology in the industry.
The “Overview of Maritime and Port Startups” report shows that the US leads the ranking with 81 startups, followed by Israel with 67, and Brazil eighth with 22 startups, ahead of France (19), Spain (17), and Norway (12).
Big Data & Analytics, involving 214 startups (more than 40 per cent of the total), is the leading technology in the sector, followed by Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (85 startups), IoT, Sensors & Monitoring (83), Robotics & Drones (42 startups), Blockchain (20), and Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality (12).
The report emphasizes that startups and entrepreneurs worldwide are taking notice of the shipping industry’s economic significance and its widely acknowledged difficulties in managing, coordinating, and ensuring the safety of shipping and berthing operations.
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Most of the companies mapped out by the study offer fleet management and monitoring solutions (155), followed by those that support freight and international trade (147).
Another four categories were identified: specialised services (93), port and terminal management (64), cybersecurity and sustainability (50), and shipbuilding and maintenance (18).
Wilson Sons’ CEO Fernando Salek believes that the ongoing large-scale changes in the shipping industry will lead to a transformation of the global landscape, driven by four major trends: the increasing prevalence of shiptechs offering comprehensive solutions, regulatory changes centred on decarbonisation, greater collaboration and crowdsourcing, and the adoption of remote or autonomous operations for ships and port equipment.
“We are experiencing an unprecedented moment in the industry, in which the adoption of new technologies will make port operations and shipping increasingly more efficient, safer and sustainable,” added Wilson Sons Digital Transformation Director, Eduardo Valença.
“We need to seize this opportunity and translate this moment into efficiency gains and more sustainable operations, while promoting the emergence, development and proliferation of startups, with impacting solutions for our industry.”
