Shipping is one of the world's oldest industries. Yet, it's continually innovating. From the steam engine that replaced sails to the steam turbine, which was created here on Tyneside by Charles Parsons, through more modern developments such as sonar and GPS.
When North P&I Club first began, 160 years ago, shipping was a more dangerous occupation – with losses frequent as more maritime traffic began to transport coal and manufactured goods.
The SS John Bowes was one of the world’s first steam colliers, built by Jarrow’s Palmer Brothers & Co, and launched in 1852. The iron-hulled ship was considered the height of technology at the time, with ballast tanks into which water was pumped instead of the more primitive sand ballast used in the wooden ships that came before it.
Despite the SS John Bowes’ relative advancement, it had none of the modern navigational tools that ships now enjoy. Instead its captains relied on charts – most likely produced by Francis Beaufort’s Hydrographic Office, which was setting the world standard for charts used by merchant ships.
Today, ships carrying all manner of raw materials and goods across the world use a plethora of technologies such as radar, automatic tracking aids, global positioning systems and digital navigational charts to get from port to port safely. With more sophisticated understanding of the environment, including how weather systems impact conditions and how forecasting can give us advance warning of threats, shipping operators have many more tools at their disposal.
That doesn’t mean the maritime industry is standing still. Far from it. There is continuous research and development of tools that make sailing across oceans increasingly safe. For 160 years North P&I’s mission has been to enable our members to trade with confidence, and that’s why we champion maritime innovation.
Last year, North launched a new digital tool to keep seafarers and ships safe from threats such as extreme weather, piracy and war. GlobeView is an interactive 3D map that gives mariners real time information to help them avert danger.
It was developed in collaboration with UK-based geospatial intelligence company Geollect and launched in February in response to ship operators’ constant requirements for up-todate, verified information.
The tool has been shared by the International Group of P&I Clubs – a collective of thirteen member clubs, including North P&I, that provide marine insurance for around 90 per cent of the world’s ocean-going shipping.
More recently it has played a key role in helping crews to navigate the complex web of country-specific port restrictions brought about by coronavirus. In October, the coronavirus tracking tool won a prestigious international maritime award. GlobeView has helped our seafarers quickly identify key data from the World Health Organisation – allowing them to make important decisions and keep vessels operating under difficult circumstances. If you look at GlobeView today you’ll see it’s bursting with information that tells you everything about the path of hurricanes in the Indian Ocean, through pandemic restrictions imposed on ports in the Azores islands, and to possible delays at the Port of Vancouver due to the discovery of Asian Gypsy Moth – a highly destructive forest pest. The technology is just one example of the new digital era in which the maritime sector now operates. Scores of cuttingedge innovations are revolutionising the way we transport the goods that are essential to everyday life. You’ve heard of autonomous cars? Well, the first autonomous ships are being trialled at sea. New digital instruments and artificial intelligence has enabled this to happen. Although, we’re some way off the majority of shipping moving this way and seafarers are still absolutely key to safe operation.
In Norway, the first electric container ship has been developed to move chemicals and fertilizers between ports on 13km route – a test bed for the future of this technology.
And security is another area which the maritime sector is focused on. Accidents, financial loss, industrial espionage and reputational damage are all risks associated with cyber-attacks. Shipping operators are vulnerable as on-board systems are often linked and reliant on satellite and internet connections which can be targeted. In some cases, cyber-crime is used to exploit operators, facilitating the smuggling of drugs and weapons, and human trafficking.
Our cyber expert team at North P&I, led by Loss Prevention Director, Colin Gillespie, helps members prevent and avert cyber-attacks using the latest insights and technology from the digital world. Earlier this year we partnered with the cloudbased tool HACyberLogix, which allows operators to build a detailed understanding of their cyber vulnerabilities, and how to address them in line with international regulations.
To help protect our own company from cyber-crime North’s CIO, James Holmes, is active in the region’s tech sector and we’re a member of Dynamo – the body responsible for representing and growing the region’s technology economy. This ever-changing environment demands constant attention when 90 per cent of the world’s trade is at stake. We’ll keep innovating to protect it.
