The boss who spearheaded development at Inmarsat of systems able to transmit levels of data needed to digitalise shipping now believes true innovation is more likely to come from outside the maritime industry than within it.

“London Black Cabs did not invent Uber, and Hilton did not invent AirBnB. So is it really possible that the current players will invent unmanned ships, [or] ship traffic control,” said former president of Inmarsat Maritime Frank Coles at the Smart4sea conference in Athens.

Coles,