At a glance

Despite challenges in certain areas, the overall direction is clear: more accurate, integrated and actionable voyage data is rapidly becoming standard. This shift will form a critical foundation for the next era of shipping. The priority now is to ensure operators are prepared to capitalise on both existing capabilities and those emerging over the coming years.

In this article, we examine three key dimensions of the voyage management data transformation and outline what must happen for operators to fully realise its potential.

Risk and uncertainty

The shipping industry has always operated in an environment defined by risk and uncertainty. What is now changing is the quality, depth and immediacy of the information available to manage it. At the centre of this shift, according to our SVP of Product, Tony Brown, is a single driving force:

“It’s the data that’s changing.”

That shift is redefining how safety and operational decisions are made — onboard, ashore and across entire fleets. It means those responsible for critical judgements will have far greater visibility of potential outcomes before they commit to action.

There remains, however, a significant challenge: the capability of onboard hardware to integrate expanding data streams, and the willingness of shipowners to invest in systems that can keep pace with a rapidly evolving landscape.

To understand the scale of this transformation, it is worth examining the major data developments now underway.

S-100 is the flagship of new data

The promised S-100 transformation is at the forefront of this. Electronic navigation has been part of shipping for years, but much of the underlying data has remained rooted in legacy standards.

“Chart data today is still largely built on standards from the 1990s,” Brown explains. “S-100 represents a step change, delivering more detailed and granular data sets that provide mariners with more comprehensive, enhanced views. This enables safer and more efficient navigation while opening up new commercial opportunities.”

While the core chart data may remain unchanged, the S-100 framework allows additional hydrographic datasets to be layered into navigation systems, supporting improved under-keel clearance management and, in some cases, enabling access to ports or anchorages previously constrained by operational uncertainty.

There remain challenges ahead in both gathering all the potential data around the world and in the sheer computing power available across fleets to process this higher quality information. And the hardware to support is not yet available – but is likely to be within a year or two.

At OneOcean, preparation for that transition is already underway.

“Our chart engine is already S-100 ready,” Brown says. “As new data services are rolled out, we will integrate and display them in line with the transition timetable, ensuring continuity for users.”

He adds that the shift from S-57 to S-100 will be evolutionary rather than disruptive.

“The introduction of S-100 data will complement existing datasets, not replace them overnight. In areas where S-100 products are available, such as the English Channel, users will be able to access enhanced data layers, while elsewhere the established datasets will continue to provide full navigational support. The transition is designed to be smooth, with continuity maintained throughout.”

AIS as integrated operational intelligence

The other upgrade this summer focuses on AIS; another example of how maritime data is becoming more integrated and operationally valuable. While AIS has long supported situational awareness, its effectiveness has been limited by fragmented data sources.

The emerging approach by OneOcean aggregates these AIS sources, including satellite, terrestrial and roaming AIS data captured directly from vessels and replayed ashore, to create a more accurate and continuous picture of vessel movements.

“When AIS data is integrated with the passage plan,” Brown explains, “it enables intelligent monitoring. Alerts can be triggered if a vessel deviates from its defined safety corridor, supporting earlier intervention and improved compliance.”

What’s more, the use of AIS in the back of bridge solution means those in charge can be constantly aware of what’s happening around them.

“By embedding AIS within our system architecture, it becomes available back of bridge and across the vessel network,” Brown says. “This ensures that decision-makers have immediate access to traffic awareness without needing to be physically present on the bridge.”

In this context, AIS evolves from a reactive visibility tool into a predictive safety mechanism that supports both onboard navigation and shore-based monitoring.

Data connecting ship to shore

This is one of the transformational aspects of this developing data world. It is reshaping the relationship between ship and shore.

“Historically, ships and shore teams have operated with different data sets and levels of visibility,” Brown explains. “The direction of travel is toward a shared, authoritative data environment; a single source of truth that supports aligned decision-making.”

With accurate, integrated datasets, and new real time connectivity around the world, shore teams can now run voyage simulations, model routes against evolving weather and tidal conditions, and prepare structured passage plans for review. The greater shoreside computing power means passage planning can achieve new levels of accuracy.

“The Master retains full responsibility for navigation,” Brown emphasises. “However, the preparatory analysis can increasingly be undertaken ashore, reducing onboard workload while strengthening the overall decision-making framework.”

Bringing it together

The direction of travel is towards a single ecosystem of decision-making tools that connect those on board with those on shore. And data is the unifying force for this.

“This is about building blocks towards central fleet management,” Brown explains. “Connecting capabilities in an integrated way.”

This is central to the strategy of the OneOcean product set, so that it provides consistency across the voyage planning and management process.

Maritime safety has always depended on professional judgement. What is changing is the quality of judgement possible. High-definition charts, granular weather models, richer AIS data, as well as integrated regulatory and port information are not isolated upgrades. Together, they form the foundation of a safer operating model and better planned voyages. Accuracy gives those involved the confidence to make these decisions.

Change often appears to happen gradually – and then all at once. The next few years in shipping will see a revolution in the use of data that has been coming for some time and is finally arriving.