Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) Tech Made Simple: 2026 Update
Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) is quickly moving from “nice-to-have ESG” into something fleets will need to show work on with measurements, maintenance routines, and a simple management plan. The IMO’s revised guidelines are now...
S-100 ECDIS (Layered Charts) Made Simple: 2026 Update
S-100 ECDIS is the shift from “one electronic chart” to a layered navigation system. Instead of a single chart dataset trying to do everything, S-100 lets the ship run a base ENC and then...
Underwater ROV & AUV Made Simple: 2026 Update
Underwater ROVs and AUVs are becoming the “underwater work crew” for ships: they inspect hulls and appendages, document damage, support in-water surveys, and increasingly help with hull cleaning and biofouling control without putting divers...
Zero-Emission Tugboats Made Simple: 2026 Update
Zero emission tugboats have moved from concept to real workhorses in a few key ports. Fully electric tug fleets are already operating in Vancouver and on Canada’s west coast, powered by hydro grids and...
Ship Crew Safety Tech Made Simple: 2026 Update
Ship crew safety tech is getting popular for the same reason dashcams did in trucking: when something goes wrong, it goes wrong fast, and the cost of “we did not know” is huge. The...
Advanced Hull Coatings Made Simple: 2026 Update
Advanced hull coatings are becoming a front-line efficiency tool because they target one of the most stubborn fuel drains in shipping: hull roughness and biofouling drag. The “latest” shift going into 2026 is not...
Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Made Simple: 2026 Update
Exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS), better known as scrubbers, are the “sulfur compliance plumbing” bolted onto a ship’s exhaust. They let operators keep burning higher-sulfur fuel while still meeting SOx emission limits by cleaning...
Cold Ironing Made Simple: 2026 Update
Cold ironing is the moment a ship “flips the switch” from its own engines to the pier. Instead of running auxiliary generators for days at berth, the vessel plugs into the port’s high-voltage grid...
IoT on Ships Made Simple: 2026 Update
IoT on ships is basically “put a sensor on it, wire it to the cloud, and actually use the data.” Instead of a chief engineer walking around with a clipboard and a pen, you...
Just-in-Time Port Calls Made Simple: 2025 Update
For many ships, “port time” really starts days before arrival, drifting in approach lanes and burning fuel while waiting for a berth. Just-in-Time (JIT) port calls flip that model: ports and ships share better...
AI-Powered Predictive Maintenance Systems Made Simple: 2026 Update
AI-powered predictive maintenance is the quiet glue behind a lot of “smart ship” slides right now: instead of reacting to alarms, owners are starting to stream vibration, pressure, temperature and control-system data into models...
Autonomous Hull Cleaning Made Simple: 2026 Update
Frequent, autonomous hull cleaning is quietly becoming one of the most powerful fuel-saving tools in shipping. Small robots and robotic “skaters” are now grooming hulls in water, keeping biofouling at “just cleaned” levels and...
Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS / WHR) Made Simple: 2026 Update
Waste heat recovery is one of those unglamorous upgrades that quietly moves the needle. Big two-stroke engines still dump well over half of their fuel energy out of the funnel or into cooling water,...
Digital Twins Made Simple: 2026 Update
Digital twins have moved from buzzword to working tool on real ships and in real ports. Into 2026, owners are using “performance twins” of hull and machinery to trim fuel use and monitor fouling,...
Onboard Carbon Capture Systems Made Simple: 2026 Update
Onboard carbon capture has quietly shifted from PowerPoint to real hardware. By mid-2025, full-scale systems were running on ships like Solvang’s Clipper Eris and pilot units from Wärtsilä, Seabound, Langh Tech and others were...
Ammonia for Ships Made Simple: 2026 Update
Ammonia has moved from whiteboard idea to real metal in the water. By early 2025 there were hundreds of ammonia-fuelled or “ammonia-ready” vessels in the orderbook, mostly carriers and bulkers, with the first deep-sea...
Smart Shore Power Made Simple: 2026 Update
Smart shore power is the quiet part of the energy transition that sits between the ship and the city. Instead of running auxiliary engines in port, the vessel plugs into a high-capacity electrical connection....
Air Lubrication Systems Made Simple: 2026 Update
Air lubrication systems turn the flat bottom of a big ship into a moving carpet of bubbles. Instead of dragging steel through dense water, the hull rides on a thin air layer, which cuts...
Maritime OT Cybersecurity Made Simple: 2026 Update
Maritime OT cybersecurity is basically the safety net for the things that actually move the ship: ECDIS, DP, main engine controls, power management, cargo systems and all the gateway gear that connects them. As...
Biofouling Detection Sensors Made Simple: 2026 Update
Biofouling detection sensors are the early-warning system for slime and barnacles. Instead of waiting until fuel bills creep up or a sea chest chokes, they watch for the first signs of biofilm on hull...