Shipping may hardly resemble itself in a few year's time — save perhaps the crews, cargoes and ships themselves — as the sector sails ever deeper into the digital realm.

Nearly every aspect of the time-honoured industry is racing toward greater technology adoption, from vessel operations to ship design to chartering, as the sector seeks greater efficiency and output.

"It’s about how to optimise the ship itself, fuel efficiencies, the voyage, crew time, how to monitor cargo, new initiatives to streamline process for ordering supplies and equipment," Christopher Clott, co-founder of the New York Maritime Innovation Center, tells TradeWinds.