Every year, Maritime CEO reaches out to ask the industry for what they see as the big tech developments or breakthroughs we should anticipate. Answers are carried below. As we move through 2026, the maritime industry is entering a critical maturation phase. The initial gold rush of digital adoption – where the mere act of installing new software was considered a victory – is being replaced by a more pragmatic, outcomes-based approach. The hype cycle of artificial intelligence and connectivity is giving way to the cold, hard reality of operational efficiency, system integration, and human-centric design. Industry leaders are no longer asking if they should digitise, but rather how to ensure those digital tools deliver genuine, sustainable value. AI and processing power For Arthur English, CEO of Norwegian shipowner G2 Ocean, the coming 12 months will serve as a definitive litmus test for maritime organisations. The landscape is splitting into two camps: those who successfully harness technology and those who will be left behind. “We will start to see the effects of intelligent business processes and how this will separate between companies who are able to utilise AI tools to create business value and the ones that are lagging behind,” English reckons. This divergence will be driven largely by the raw technical capacity to compute. As English points out, “More powerful processing power capable of running powerful optimisation models and enabling complex datasets to be analysed will enhance decision making. Combined with AI tools this has the potential to really make a difference and think we will start seeing this in 2026.” Crucially, this digital evolution is supported by a changing landscape in infrastructure. “Due to more competition in the satellite market, we are expecting fleet and shore communication will further advance and take digitalisation in shipping a step forward in 2026,” he adds. From experimentation to reliability Building on this momentum, the focus is shifting from AI as a toy to AI as a tool. Kim Sørensen, CEO of StormGeo, observes that the primary shift for the next year is a move toward operational certainty. “First, AI will become a standard part of daily voyage decision-making and optimisation. I expect the focus on AI to shift from experimentation to actual operational reliability,” Sørensen explains. He notes that the era of AI-driven rote tasks is here: “For example, AI will increasingly be used to automate time-consuming, repeatable, and routine decisions in weather routing services, while leaving safety-critical situations to human experts.” Beyond pure AI utility, Sørensen identifies a desperate need for ecosystem consolidation. “Second, shipping companies will increasingly move away from multiple standalone tools toward more integrated platforms that support a broader part of the value chain,” he says. The “fragmentation fatigue” among operators is palpable. “Instead of having several vendors for different functions, such as voyage planning, bunker management, emissions compliance, and more, I foresee companies gradually shifting to vendors that can support a broader part of the value chain.” To ensure this works, he emphasises that, “In an era where access to information and data has never been greater, user-friendliness and visualisation in maritime tech will become more important.” Operationalising intelligence Kris Vedat, CEO of SmartSea, echoes the call for deeper integration, arguing that we must move