Digital seafarer certification requires trusted and interoperable systems

Digital seafarer certification requires trusted and interoperable systems
The Editorial Team October 29, 2026 https://safety4sea.com/digital-seafarer-certification-requires-trusted-a...

Thetius and Maritime Passport warn digital seafarer credentials require interoperability, reliable verification and common standards to improve maritime compliance, safety and workforce mobility.

A new report by Thetius, produced in association with Maritime Passport, explains that replacing paper-based seafarer certificates with electronic documents will not automatically resolve longstanding verification challenges. The report, titled Securing Trust: The Transition to Digital Seafarer Credentials, examines how the sector can move toward a trusted digital credential system, as an estimated 2.57 million seafarers serve more than 85,000 merchant vessels worldwide.

Despite advances in maritime digitalization, much of the documentation used to establish their qualifications, training and sea service continues to be managed through paper certificates, scanned copies and disconnected databases.

Remarkable advances in digital identity, biometrics and secure credential technologies make a transition to digital verification possible, but they also raise important questions around legitimacy, governance, interoperability and adoption. Interoperability is essential, but it must strengthen these principles, never compromise them. …explained Martin White, Co-Founder of Maritime Passport.

Fragmented verification creates operational challenges

Seafarers’ professional credentials are issued and maintained by multiple organizations, including flag administrations, approved training institutions and recognized medical practitioners. The same information is subsequently checked by employers, crewing departments, masters and inspectors, often through separate verification processes.

Thetius highlights how these arrangements can create administrative burdens, delays and uncertainty over the authenticity or current status of certificates. At OSM Thome, which recruits approximately 6,000 seafarers annually, Recruitment Director Dorthe Karlsen reported that manually entering credential information for an offshore vessel captain can take between one and two hours.

Missing, expired or inaccessible certificates can also disrupt recruitment and crew changes, while difficulties confirming the authenticity of qualifications create potential safety and compliance risks.

The report notes that converting certificates into PDFs or providing QR codes does not necessarily resolve these problems. Although a digital document may be easier to distribute, it must still be possible to establish who issued it, whether it remains valid and whether it belongs to the individual presenting it.

As Grant Hunter, Chief Technology & Data Officer at BIMCO, explained: “That’s digitisation. That’s not really taking us very much further. It’s just taking a piece of paper and scanning it in. We need to focus on the data itself.”

Interoperability emerges as a central requirement

One of the report’s key findings is that digital credentials must function across different systems without requiring every stakeholder to use the same platform.

Thetius warns that the proliferation of isolated digital certificates, proprietary applications and separate verification portals could reproduce the fragmentation of the existing paper-based system. Instead, it recommends common rules governing credential issuance, identity verification, authenticity, validity and secure information exchange.

Under such an approach, flag administrations and other authorized issuers would retain responsibility for credentials, while seafarers could securely hold and present their professional records through compatible systems.

Employers and inspectors would be able to verify credentials independently, including when using different technology providers.

Grant Hunter emphasized the importance of avoiding dependence on a single platform. “We don’t imagine one single platform will ever dominate. I don’t think that’s very healthy anyway. But we do need to make sure that the platforms that do come onto the market are capable of moving data seamlessly from one platform to the other”, Hunter said.

The report also stresses that technical verification does not automatically establish regulatory recognition. Flag administrations would continue to determine which qualifications and issuing organizations they recognize under applicable requirements.

Regulatory developments support digital certification

The transition is taking place alongside wider regulatory developments supporting electronic maritime documentation. Amendments to the STCW Convention and Code that entered into force on January 1, 2025, recognize original certificates in either paper or electronic form.

The report also references the IMO’s June 2026 Joint Guidelines for electronic certificates, which address authenticity, protection against unauthorized changes and verification procedures.

Meanwhile, the IMO Facilitation Committee approved the IMO Strategy on Maritime Digitalization in March 2026, emphasizing interoperability, standardization and data governance, with further consideration planned before its expected submission to the IMO Assembly in 2027.

Several maritime administrations have already introduced electronic certification services. The report highlights developments in Singapore, Denmark and Liberia, alongside the European Maritime Safety Agency’s work on an EU Seafarers’ Certification Platform and notes that the United Kingdom began electronically issuing Flag State Endorsements on September 1, 2026.

However, different implementation approaches and levels of digital maturity mean that digital credentials are not yet universally adopted or recognized.
Safety, cybersecurity and seafarer protection

Beyond administrative efficiency, Thetius identifies credential verification as an important element of maritime safety assurance.

Reliable systems could help crewing departments detect missing or expiring certificates before assigning personnel to vessels, while enabling inspectors to confirm qualifications more efficiently.

Nevertheless, digital systems must remain resilient when connectivity is limited or technology services become unavailable. The report emphasizes that offline verification, credential recovery and procedures for handling unsuccessful checks should be incorporated into system design.

It also raises concerns over personal data protection and seafarer access to professional records. Digital systems should allow seafarers to transfer their credentials between compatible providers, control the information shared where appropriate and retain access when changing employers.

The report cautions against transferring the costs of digitalization to seafarers or introducing new dependencies that could restrict employment opportunities.
Industry urged to prioritize practical implementation

Rather than recommending the immediate replacement of existing certification arrangements, Thetius calls for a phased transition based on measurable operational benefits.

Key recommendations include:

Establishing common requirements for trusted digital credentials, including identity, issuer authority, verification and data protection.
Testing digital credential systems through practical applications involving authorized issuers, seafarers, employers and inspectors.
Maintaining seafarer access to professional records while preserving the authority of issuing organizations.
Making interoperability and data portability essential requirements when selecting technology providers.
Ensuring systems remain resilient during connectivity failures, cyber incidents and service disruptions.

According to Thetius, the industry’s success should ultimately be assessed by whether digital credentials improve actual verification and operational processes, rather than by the number of certificates issued.

Moving from paper to digital means protecting a seafarer’s identity, qualifications, and ultimately their livelihood, while safeguarding highly sensitive personal information. Digital credentials must reinforce issuing authority while giving employers, inspectors, and other key stakeholders confidence that every credential is valid, up to date, and held by the rightful individual. …highlighted Peter Phillips, Co-Founder of Maritime Passport.