Eutelsat and Intellian Launch Portable LEO Terminal for Frontline Connectivity
February 13, 2026
1:30 pm
Read More »
Back
Marcura’s CEO: In Maritime Tech, Speed and Scale Now Decide the Winners
Marcura’s CEO: In Maritime Tech, Speed and Scale Now Decide the Winners
Shipping’s digital race is entering a tougher phase.
According to Marcura’s CEO, success no longer depends on having a clever tool — it depends on how fast you connect data, people and decisions across the value chain.
Henrik Hyldahn, Group CEO of Marcura, believes the industry has moved beyond the early hype of digitalisation. The conversation is no longer about whether to digitise — it is about execution under pressure.
“The room for error has shrunk,” he argues. Decision cycles are shorter, expectations higher, and tolerance for underperformance minimal. The technology exists, he says, but companies must now “connect the dots faster than ever before.”
For operators, that means integrating fragmented data streams into something operationally useful — not just dashboards, but decision-support layers that reduce risk and improve outcomes.
The knowledge cliff approaching
One of Hyldahn’s biggest concerns lies not in software — but in people.
Much of shipping’s expertise sits with professionals in their 60s and 70s. Their knowledge was built through decades of experience, often undocumented and rarely systematised. As they retire, that insight risks disappearing.
The solution, he suggests, is to codify experience into digital systems — turning individual know-how into institutional memory.
For shipowners and managers, this is more than HR strategy. It is operational continuity. Claims handling, port cost validation, procurement scrutiny and chartering negotiations all rely heavily on tacit knowledge. Without structured digital capture, those skills are difficult to replicate.
A generational shift in expectations
By 2030, Generation Z is projected to account for roughly one-third of the global workforce.
Hyldahn warns that this cohort — digital natives by default — will not accept outdated workflows.
Shipping offers compelling narratives: global trade, complex logistics, real-world stakes. But if new recruits are handed paper-heavy processes and manual error checking, they may look elsewhere.
For maritime employers, digital transformation is not only about efficiency. It is also about talent attraction and retention.
What Comes Next
With Builder’s Sea Trials completed, the ship will return to Newport News for adjustments and corrections based on trial findings.
The next major benchmark will be Acceptance Trials, when the U.S. Navy formally evaluates the vessel before taking delivery. The timeline for that phase is still being finalized.
Delivery of USS John F. Kennedy is currently projected for 2027.
For the U.S. maritime industrial base — and particularly Newport News Shipbuilding, the nation’s sole builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers — this milestone reinforces continuity in large-scale naval construction at a time of rising global naval competition.
Scale over single solutions
Hyldahn has seen the industry from multiple angles. Before joining Marcura in 2024, he spent six years at ShipServ. Earlier in his career, he worked outside shipping at Coca-Cola and Carlsberg, and entered maritime in 2007 as CIO at Camillo Eitzen.
That cross-industry perspective shapes his view on consolidation in ship tech.
He argues that the future will not belong to companies offering the best point solution in a single niche. Instead, winners will be those capable of building scalable platforms — connecting data into a flexible information layer that adapts to client needs across procurement, operations and finance.
In other words, context matters as much as capability.
The reliability test
Shipping’s cautious culture, Hyldahn says, is justified.
The stakes are high: large capital exposure, safety implications and contractual consequences. In such an environment, 90% reliability is insufficient — even 95% may not pass scrutiny.
This high threshold explains why many maritime startups struggle. Building innovative technology is only half the challenge. The other half is earning trust in a conservative industry.
“You have to build the market and the product at the same time,” he notes — a process requiring domain expertise, patience and substantial financial runway.
For founders in maritime tech, that is both a warning and a roadmap.
Why This Matters
- For shipowners and operators: Digital value now lies in integrated, decision-ready data — not isolated tools. Speed and system interoperability are becoming competitive advantages.
- For maritime tech startups: Reliability expectations are significantly higher than in many other sectors, requiring longer development cycles and deeper industry knowledge.
- For senior maritime leaders: Capturing institutional knowledge before experienced professionals retire is becoming a strategic priority.
- For the next generation workforce: Modern digital workflows will increasingly influence where young talent chooses to build their careers.
Shipping has always rewarded experience. The next phase may reward those who can translate that experience into scalable, trusted digital systems — before time runs out.
When a 100,000-ton nuclear-powered vessel clears its first sea trials, it’s more than a naval headline — it’s a benchmark in modern shipbuilding.
TUI Cruises to Retrofit Mein Schiff 6 with Compressor-Free Air Lubrication
February 13, 2026
1:18 pm
Read More »
Marcura’s CEO: In Maritime Tech, Speed and Scale Now Decide the Winners
February 13, 2026
12:58 pm
Read More »
IMO Pushes “Policy to Practice” Agenda to Close Global Enforcement Gaps
February 13, 2026
12:23 pm
Read More »
Simulation, Not Assumptions: How ABS Is Building a Safety Case for Ammonia at Sea
February 13, 2026
12:13 pm
Read More »
