The Smart Maritime Council, a cross-industry membership group focused on technology harmonisation, standardisation and interoperability, has released a new set of best practice guidelines for data ownership and access in the maritime sector, providing a recommended list of data control issues for shipping companies and technology providers to consider when discussing contracts for the supply of shipboard systems.
The Smart Maritime Council is an initiative created by the Smart Maritime Network in 2019, bringing together maritime service and equipment providers, vessel operators and related industry stakeholders to discuss technology issues across the global transport chain.
The 'Data Ownership and Access in Maritime – Best Practice Guidelines' document published by the group includes recommendations on establishing ownership of the data created by vessel equipment and systems, translation of digital signals into usable data formats for analysis, consent-based sharing with third-party analytics providers, and other related issues of key importance as the digitalisation of the maritime industry continues to progress.
In all, the publication highlights 11 key considerations for industry stakeholders to discuss at the beginning of any contractual relationship for digitally enabled systems, to ensure that data ownership and access rights are agreed upon early in the process and that any subsequent use of the data created by shipboard equipment is based on the principle of informed consent between the relevant parties.
The best practice recommendations document is available to download from the Smart Maritime Network website and can be freely used by industry stakeholders in any capacity they believe will be beneficial, particularly in offering guidance on data access in situations where strong precedents have not already been established.