Smart Maritime Council adopts data standard

The Smart Maritime Council is part of the Smart Maritime Network which brings together service and equipment providers vessel operators and stakeholders to discuss technology compatibility, standardisation and harmonisation across the global transport chain.

At a recent meeting in Rotterdam, the council unanimously accepted the proposal to adopt ISO 19848. “We are delighted that the diverse range of organisations represented within the Smart Maritime Council have been able to come together in the spirit of collaboration to support this independent data standard,” said Rob O’Dwyer, chief network officer at Smart Maritime Network and Council chair.

ISO 19848 ‘Ships and marine technology — Standard data for shipboard machinery and equipment’ was published in October 2018, formalising years of work originally carried out as part of a Smart Ship Application Platform joint industry project launched in Japan in 2012.

Industry backing

Backed by Wartsila, Kongsberg and ABB and with major ship owners including Monohakobi Technology Institute (NYK’s research institute), Stolt-Nielsen, V.Group, and Wallem involved, the standard provides a common ‘data dictionary’ and naming rule convention to create a harmonised framework for maritime data and applications.

Once a marine equipment provider has mapped its own datasets to the common standard then that information can be used immediately within any other application that uses the same format, removing one of the key barriers to maritime digitalisation.

The standard is independently maintained by ISO meaning that it can be freely applied whilst also remaining independent from influence by any particular supplier.