What is the 10-questions interview? Regularly, we interview a promising startup or scale-up in the climate & energy tech ecosystem and ask them our 10 questions to showcase their technology, inspire the sector with their ambition and better understand their needs. With our platform (ZERO), we want to put these bold innovators on a pedestal and introduce them to our audience. Do you want to connect with this startup/scale-up, feel free to contact us at info@platformzero.co! 

Shipping Technology B.V. is making great strides to guide the maritime sector towards sustainability. By developing applications to support maritime management onshore and offshore with the latest Artificial Intelligence technologies, they are increasing safety and efficiency for on-board processes, ensuring a more sustainable future for the sector. Shipping Technology B.V.’s ambition is to make shipping fleets future proof through their innovative technologies.
In this Ten Questions interview, you can read the inspiring answers of Founding Partner Remco Pikaart.

10 Questions

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself, who are you and what makes you tick?

My name is Remco Pikaart, Founding Partner at Shipping Technology B.V. My journey began as an inland shipping entrepreneur, a sector where I have spent my entire life. I was born and raised in this sector. Until a few years ago, I managed and owned a shipping company with three ships. After that, together with two partners at Xomnia, we started Shipping Technology.

My primary motivation is enhancing on-board processes. This passion originates from witnessing significant crew shortages within the industry, a challenge that will probably only get bigger. At Shipping Technology, we focus on automating processes. Our ultimate goal? Making autonomous sailing possible. That is the future we are working towards.

2. What is the core of your mission (the bold goal) that you are pursuing?

The core of our mission is to enable, step by step, existing and new ships to sail with advanced automation. We do this by making intensive use of data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The goal is to use the decisions that the captain makes today, and the data we extract from them, for the development of the models of tomorrow. We focus not only on the nautical process but also on automating maintenance processes and loading-unloading processes, in order to form a business case for sailing with reduced crew.

3. What are you building/developing with your organization (and where are you now)?

Our journey began in 2018 with the development of the ST BRAIN, which we successfully launched in 2019. The ST BRAIN is our central hub, which will be installed on board and has two main functions.

Firstly, it collects data from all nautical systems such as radar, river pilot, engine management, GPS, camera images and VHF/maritime radio data, and stores it in the secured cloud. Shipowners can access their data through the ST Dashboard, and also track and monitor their travels with the Operational Reporting Tool and emissions with the Emission Reporting Tools.

The second function of the ST BRAIN is its ability to run multiple applications on board. The ST BRAIN ensures that the apps function correctly, even in the absence of an internet connection. An example of this is the ST Collision Detection, our safety product that applies AI to predict movements of ships and other objects, and provides warnings to captions of potential collisions.

With all the collected data of the past few years, we developed our first autonomous product named the Autonomous Lane Assist (ALA), which is a significant step towards autonomous sailing. This system, currently managing the rudder, is a critical first step towards fully autonomous sailing. Our roadmap includes integrating the ALA with engine management and eventually the bow thruster, as part of our commitment to progressively automate the entire nautical process step by step.

4. What are some recent highlights that really make you proud?

I am particularly proud of two recent highlights. Firstly, we have reached a significant milestone by unlocking data from 200 ships. This is an important step and achievement in our mission to modernize and make the inland shipping sector more efficient.

Secondly, I am very proud of our Autonomous Lane Assist (ALA), our first semi-autonomous product. This system uses historical data to semi-autonomously steer ships today. This is not only a technological breakthrough, but also a clear proof of our commitment to innovation and improving the sector. These developments are not only evidence of our hard work and expertise but also show how far we have come in our mission to transform the inland shipping sector.

5. What is the biggest challenge you see for your company to grow even faster? 

For me, the biggest challenge is to find ways in speeding up our growth. We are currently at a point where we are turning a profit. With each ship we connect, we generate more revenue. This not only broadens our core proposition but also amplifies our ideas. We have reached a stage where we need to consider how we can grow even faster and stronger. This essentially means scaling up the team quickly to realize our ideas. The real challenge is in finding and attracting the right people who can help us accelerate our roadmap.

6. What makes your team that you are working with, special?

We have a relatively small team, consisting of 11 people including myself. What makes our team special is the unique blend of talents and backgrounds. We have a young diverse group of data scientists and engineers, as well as people who originally came from outside the maritime sector. These individuals have now acquired essential knowledge about the behavior of ships and the workings of inland shipping.

The combination of my own experience and that of the other colleagues within the company, together with the expertise of our data scientists and engineers, gives us all the power in-house to develop effective solutions for the inland shipping sector. Moreover, this mix gives us the opportunity to potentially expand into other sectors in the future.

7. What is your view on our climate challenge and how do you want to contribute?

The climate challenge is a reality that we cannot ignore. The maritime sector will have to report its emission levels, and it’s inevitable that inland shipping will soon face similar obligations. Understanding current performance is essential for this process, as this data not only informs our immediate strategies but also aids our customers in making informed future decisions.

Shipping Technology’s contribution lies in the use of data that we collect and analyze. We focus on making all consumption components on board ships transparent, in order to clearly demonstrate the current climate performance of the sector. By unlocking this data, we not only help the sector become aware of its current state, but also give shipowners the ability to make decisions about their future. They can determine whether they are prepared for the upcoming years or that they need to take action now. With the footprint that we provide back to our customers, they can make sensible investments that not only fit their current business model but also contribute to addressing the climate challenges of the future.

8. What is your view on your sector and what is needed to accelerate change?

The inland shipping sector is very promising, but is currently undergoing some significant shifts. We are seeing a decrease in private skippers, partly due to aging. At the same time, the number of larger shipping companies is growing. Despite these changes, the sector remains somewhat neglected, especially when it comes to performance, environmental friendliness, and future potential for waterborne transport.

My vision to accelerate change is the following: there should be more emphasis on keeping business models in shipping up to date, and adapt them if needed, in order to stay ahead of the competition and to be able to respond to future challenges. With our products, we hope to contribute to this development by helping the sector modernize and become more efficient and environmentally friendly. This is essential to accelerate the change and give inland shipping a prominent role in the future of waterborne transport.

9. Are there needs (network, funding, people) that our community could provide?

Absolutely, there’s no doubt about it. Accelerating growth significantly impacts the organization. Until now, our small team has achieved a lot. However, raising funds through a community would be beneficial. This approach would stimulate company growth and accelerate our roadmap, leading to a substantial increase in the number of people in the company.

In this case, yes, networking, and possibly the ‘know-how’ of a company like Platform Zero, become desirable. This is to ensure controlled growth and achieve our objectives in a structured manner.

10. What are the inspiring startups/scale-ups you think we should interview next?

Some startups that I find interesting are Silence Nederland Official, Chat License, and Light Year.

Enthousiastic about Shipping Technology B.V. or do you want to connect with Remco? Contact us at info@platformzero.co and we will bring you in touch!