Digitalisation will stall if shipping keeps asking people to work around software

Digitalisation will stall if shipping keeps asking people to work around software
November 6, 2026 https://splash247.com/digitalisation-will-stall-if-shipping-keeps-asking...

Many operators still rely on spreadsheets and email alongside their digital systems. Closing that gap means making technology fit the work, connect information and support accountable decisions, writes Egil Husby from OrbitMI.

Shipping has no shortage of digital tools, yet many operators still move information between platforms, spreadsheets and email to complete routine work. They reconcile conflicting data, assess alerts with limited context and work around systems that do not fit their processes. So why do so many systems fail to fit the work they are meant to support?

Digitalisation has delivered value, but investment alone does not guarantee adoption. When platforms operate in silos, use different data and require teams to adapt workflows to a generic interface, the technology can add steps instead of removing them. People become the integration layer, transferring information and deciding which version to trust. Buying another application to fill a gap may solve one problem while making the wider system harder to manage.

The result is a growing distance between what digital tools promise and what operators experience. When expected gains in efficiency or decision-making do not materialise, confidence weakens. That is the substance of digital fatigue: not resistance to technology, but frustration with tools that create more work, fail to connect or are difficult to use consistently.

Training is part of the problem. A June 2026 World Maritime University study surveyed 532 seafarers across 64 countries. More than 80% said they rarely or never receive digital-skills training, and only 13% said shore-based training consistently reflects the systems they encounter onboard. A platform cannot improve decisions if the people expected to use it have not been prepared to do so.

Artificial intelligence raises the stakes. It can help teams organise information, reduce repetitive work and flag changes that need attention. But adding AI to fragmented systems does not resolve fragmentation. A recommendation that arrives without an explanation, a clear purpose or a route to human review can create more uncertainty than it resolves.

That risk is sharpest in voyage operations. Weather, vessel capabilities, charter party terms, fuel costs and schedule commitments all compete for priority, and their weight can shift mid-voyage. Balancing those trade-offs takes contextual judgement that automated instructions cannot replace. AI should support that judgement by helping operators see relevant information sooner, while responsibility for the decision stays with them.

That support only works if the technology around it makes existing work simpler to manage. It should bring relevant information into the workflow where decisions are made, explain why an alert or recommendation has appeared, reduce repeated data entry and switching between systems, and give users access to human expertise when a decision needs scrutiny.

This shifts the focus from features to fit. Software should adapt to each organisation’s processes and the needs of different users, without requiring bespoke engineering every time those needs change. Systems should connect where possible, so information supports decisions across commercial, operational and compliance work. Meanwhile, training should reflect the tools people will be expected to use at sea and ashore.

This is the approach we take at OrbitMI: connecting data, reporting and workflows in a workspace that adapts to users, applying AI where it brings practical benefit and human expertise available to support operational judgement. Digitalisation is not complete when software is installed. It succeeds when people can use connected information confidently in the work they already do.

The next step is making the systems shipping already has work together, fit the people using them and keep decisions clearly accountable. That is how digital investment starts to earn trust, and how the industry gives its people a fair chance to make it work.