Future-Proofing Maritime: Insights on Sustainability, Circularity, and Strategic Innovation
In a recent Teqplay Vodcast, we sat down with Majorlein & Sylvia Boer, founders of Maritime Sisters. who shared with us insights on how to achieve a future-proof maritime sector.
The industry stands at a crossroads. Faced with resource scarcity, shifting geopolitical landscapes, and climate imperatives, it must transition towards a future-proof model that is both competitive and sustainable.
The Maritime Sisters discussed with us several pressing themes in this discussion:
The urgency of circular design and material reuse
Maintaining strategic shipbuilding capacity in Europe
Leveraging digitization for efficiency and lifecycle management
Aligning the entire supply chain around change
In this article, we will summarize the points being discussed and insights shared by Marjolein and Sylvia.
Why change is hard, and where it starts
Maritime is an interconnected system fine-tuned over decades, even centuries. Its contracts, processes, and networks bring stability, but they also make adaptation difficult.
Progress often begins with a coalition of willing players: companies ready to test and adopt new technologies faster than the mainstream. By starting where there’s momentum and scaling outward, change can spread through the supply chain more effectively.
Circularity as a competitive and strategic imperative
Circular thinking is no longer just a sustainability talking point; it’s becoming a necessity for competitiveness and resilience.
Three key drivers stand out:
1. Resource scarcity
Critical materials such as copper and steel are becoming more geopolitically sensitive. Supply disruptions during events like the Ukraine–Russia conflict have exposed vulnerabilities.
2. Cost efficiency
Circular practices can reduce both material and production costs. For example:
Copper cable optimization: Redesigning vessels to use 20% less cabling by 2030 could cut costs, reduce weight, and lower dependency on copper, a material with rising demand and constrained supply.
Component remanufacturing: Restoring a 20-year-old tunnel thruster to “as new” condition can save 60–80% in materials and up to 60% in costs, with similar potential across 20–30 ship components.
3. Strategic autonomy
Reducing dependency on imports — particularly from dominant suppliers like China — strengthens Europe’s ability to maintain critical maritime capabilities.
European shipbuilding at a turning point
Europe’s share of global shipbuilding has fallen from 45% in the 1980s to 4% today. Reversing this trend requires:
Closing the 20–30% cost gap with Asian competitors.
Embracing robotization and digitalization to modernize production.
Focusing on specialized, high-tech, low-emission vessels rather than competing on mass production.
Governments are beginning to recognize shipbuilding as a strategic industry, with policies aimed at preserving capabilities in dredging, energy infrastructure, and defense.
Digitization as an enabler of sustainability
Digital technologies are central to improving efficiency and enabling circularity:
Operational optimization: Adjusting vessel speeds, routing, and system usage to cut emissions and costs.
Material tracking: Digital “passports” that record the lifecycle of components, enabling reuse and informed recycling.
Predictive maintenance: Replacing parts based on condition, not arbitrary schedules, to extend lifespan and reduce waste.
Simulation and training: Facilities like MARIN’s Seven Oceans Simulator Center combine VR, AR, and physical testing to improve safety and operability before vessels go to sea.
A Teqplay, our mission is to expose & eliminate waste and risk in cargo movements, driving change, and fostering collaboration. We believe digitalization is no longer optional; it is essential. That’s why we’ve developed tools that not only enable smarter, data-driven operations, but also help organizations measurably improve performance.