Key Takeaways from ‘Shaping Safer Seas: Innovations in Action’

Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do at RightShip. We believe the best solutions are created with our customers, not just for them. As we continue to transform and innovate—bringing smarter digital tools, AI-powered insights, and a co-pilot approach to maritime safety—we know that progress happens best when it's built together.

That’s why we hosted our first Open House during Singapore Maritime Week 2025 – “Shaping Safer Seas: Innovations in Action.”—an Open House event designed to spark conversation, collaboration, and fresh thinking across the maritime industry. 

The event brought together a diverse group of over 80 industry stakeholders for interactive, participant-led discussions focused on risk management, safety, sustainability, and crew welfare. Together, we explored how data, technology, and shared purpose can drive meaningful change and enable safer outcomes at sea. 

The morning featured three focused conversations on key industry priorities: the evolution of risk management, risk mitigation and operational efficiency, and the role of standardised inspections. These topics were selected to reflect the challenges and opportunities facing the maritime sector today, and to invite honest, ground-level perspectives from those working to shape safer seas.

Each conversation started with a short sharing from a speaker, followed by live Q&A and dialogue from the floor, making room for questions that mattered most to participants.

Conversation 1: Evolution of Risk Management 

Led by Chief Product and Technology Officer Marlon Grech and moderated by Head of Product Design Maik Lutze, this session dove into how AI is not just improving maritime risk management—it’s completely reshaping it.

We’re not just talking about automation. We’re talking transformation. From RightShip AI agents that interpret complex Port State Control (PSC) closeouts to those that extract insights from Class Status Reports in seconds, the shift is real: from manual, human-led processes to machine-led, human-assisted.

Marlon shared how RightShip is rebuilding its platform around specialised AI agents—each trained to perform a specific, high-value task. Need deeper insight into a PSC finding? Our AI doesn’t just count deficiencies—it assesses their severity, distinguishes what truly matters, and identifies recurring themes, enabling targeted, regional insights at scale for every vessel and every charter. Something that was once impossible without massive human effort.

We’re moving beyond quantitative checks to qualitative intelligence. Participants echoed that one of the biggest challenges in maritime today is the lack of structured digital data. Much of what matters lives in PDFs, built for human eyes and brains, not machine chips. But that’s exactly where AI shines—reading unstructured documents, understanding context, and generating actionable outputs in real time.

The conversation underscored how AI, when built responsibly, can elevate—not replace—human expertise. At RightShip, we're deeply committed to this. Our model ensures AI handles the repetitive work while bringing experts into the loop when their judgment matters most. Through strong policies and ongoing investment, we’re focused on building AI that is transparent, explainable, trustworthy, and truly human-centric. It’s not just about adopting AI—it’s about doing it right.

Key Takeaways:

1. From Human-Led to Machine-Led, Human-Assisted
   RightShip is reimagining workflows—AI leads routine tasks, and humans focus on where judgment matters most. It’s a shift that’s unlocking speed, scale, and smarter decisions.
2. AI as a Force Multiplier for Data
   RightShip’s AI agents turn human-readable PDFs into actionable insights—interpreting closeouts, assessing severity, and spotting patterns in seconds, not hours. All at scale, with industry-level aggregation.
3. From Counting to Understanding
   We’re moving beyond deficiency counts. AI delivers qualitative insights—like severity, risk themes, and regional trends—that were impossible to surface manually.
4. Responsible AI That Supercharges Experts
   Trust is non-negotiable. Our co-pilot model is built on clear methods, privacy safeguards, and human oversight—freeing experts from repetitive tasks and amplifying their impact where judgment matters most.

This isn’t just AI theory. This is AI in action—solving real problems, today! 

Conversation 2: Risk Mitigation and Operational Efficiency 

Led by Chief Transformation, Investments and Strategy Officer Tarun Mehrotra and Chief Commercial Officer Saurabh Dasgupta, this conversation explored how operational risks can be reduced—not just through faster technology, but by building smarter workflows and stronger collaboration across the maritime value chain.

Drawing on his experience as both a charterer and a commodity trader, Saurabh shared how decision-making in shipping often comes down to tight timelines and fragmented data. Whether fixing a vessel or moving cargo, the biggest risk isn’t always the unknown—it’s the time lost chasing documents, checking siloed platforms, and trying to piece together insights under pressure.

Participants echoed this reality, surfacing pain points like manual data collection, lack of real-time visibility, and inconsistent standards across customers and ports. In fact, when we asked attendees what their greatest challenge in boosting operational efficiency was, the majority pointed to a lack of real-time insights - highlighting the urgent need for better data access and decision support across the supply chain.  

A recurring theme was the need for transparency and orchestration—so that information flows proactively between owners, managers, charterers, and terminals. Tools alone won’t solve the problem unless the industry moves together. As one participant put it, “You can have the best platform in the world, but if the data is incomplete or unverified, you’re still stuck.”

RightShip is evolving its digital workflows to help improve visibility and reduce that scramble. But meaningful change will require shared standards, cultural shifts, and stronger relationships—with transparency at the centre of it all.

Key Takeaways:

• Timely decisions require timely data. Real-time insights are only possible when the right data is collected, verified, and made accessible across all actors.
• Manual and siloed processes slow everything down. Many still rely on emails and disconnected systems to exchange key information—leading to delays and duplicated effort.
• Every supply chain has unique risks. A one-size-fits-all solution isn’t practical, but shared frameworks can still streamline how risk is managed and communicated.
• Transparency enables readiness. When requirements and data are shared in advance, vessels can be kept in a constant state of readiness—rather than scrambling at the last minute.
• Technology is just one piece of the puzzle. Industry-wide efficiency depends not only on tools, but also on trust, adoption, and collaboration across the value chain.

Conversation 3: The Role of Standardised Inspections  

Led by Chief Maritime Officer, Christopher Saunders, this session explored the evolution of inspections—reflecting on their history, current challenges, and the opportunities that lie ahead in creating more consistent, reliable, and transparent inspection frameworks. 

Participants shared a strong collective interest in greater alignment and clarity around inspections. While the tanker industry has benefited from SIRE, the dry sector continues to navigate varied expectations, multiple inspection formats, and differing standards across stakeholders. This can create complexity—not just for owners and managers, but also for charterers trying to interpret inspection outcomes during vessel selection.

The discussion centred on how we can build on existing efforts to make inspections more meaningful, more consistent, and ultimately, more supportive of better safety outcomes. Chris talked about a risk-based approach, and suggestions from the ground included recognising the impact of corrective actions, improving how we share and interpret inspection data, and keeping the seafarer’s experience in mind throughout.

Importantly, the conversation reaffirmed that inspections should be more than a checklist—they should serve as a tool to support learning, improvement, and trust throughout the value chain. As one participant noted, resilience and responsiveness should be recognised, not just the absence of deficiencies.

The path forward? More transparency, more consistency, and more collaboration. The appetite for improvement is clear—and the opportunity to co-create a stronger, safer inspection ecosystem is one the industry is ready for.

Key Takeaways:

• Consistency builds confidence. A standardised inspection framework can help all stakeholders—owners, charterers, and operators—make more informed decisions using a common understanding of performance.
• One size doesn’t fit all. A more risk-based approach, tailored to vessel history and context, can help make inspections more focused, efficient, and meaningful.
• Insight matters more than volume. There's growing support for recognising not just findings, but how effectively operators respond. Contextualising inspections can help ensure fairness and support continuous improvement.
• Better data sharing can reduce duplication. Streamlined access to inspection insights—where appropriate—could reduce the need for overlapping inspections and enable better planning across the supply chain.

 
Beyond the Conversations 

Between the sessions, attendees had the opportunity to explore the Demo Hub, Customer Experience Hub, and AI Playground, where the RightShip team engaged in hands-on conversations and live demonstrations of our platforms and solutions. From product walkthroughs to Q&As on our latest innovations, these touchpoints allowed for deeper discussion and direct feedback.

The event also created space for organic networking and robust idea exchange, bringing together professionals from across the maritime ecosystem to connect, collaborate, and share perspectives in an open and welcoming environment. 
 

Looking Ahead

A big thank you to all our participants, speakers, and guests who made RightShip’s first Open House a success. Your questions, stories, and feedback are what fuel our continued commitment to shaping a safer, more sustainable maritime industry—together.

If you found the sessions or this wrap-up valuable, you may also be interested in our upcoming RightShip DeepDive Webinars. Check out our events page to register!