The library
ShipGPT
Why It’s the Need of the Hour in the Maritime Industry
Gyan · Chachondhia
The book
The case for AI at sea
A call to action for shipowners, managers and seafarers - the pain points of today, the possibilities of tomorrow, and the practical steps to bring AI onboard. The origin of ShipSmith.
The vocabulary ShipSmith speaks
- SOLAS Safety of Life at Sea
- The principal IMO convention setting minimum safety standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships.
- MARPOL Marine Pollution
- The IMO convention for the prevention of pollution from ships, including oil, sewage, garbage and air emissions (organized in Annexes I–VI).
- ISPS Code International Ship and Port Facility Security
- A framework of security measures for ships and port facilities to detect and deter threats.
- ISM Code International Safety Management
- The standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention, implemented through a Safety Management System.
- PSC Port State Control
- Inspection of foreign ships in national ports to verify compliance with international rules. Deficiencies can lead to detention.
- DOC Document of Compliance
- A certificate issued to a company that complies with the ISM Code; audited periodically.
- SMS Safety Management System
- The structured set of policies, procedures and SOPs that govern safe operations on a vessel and ashore.
- LSA / FFA Life-Saving Appliances / Fire-Fighting Appliances
- Onboard safety equipment - lifeboats, life rafts, EEBDs, extinguishers, fire pumps - subject to scheduled inspection and testing.
- EEBD Emergency Escape Breathing Device
- A short-duration breathing apparatus used to escape from a compartment with a hazardous atmosphere.
- GMDSS Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
- The internationally agreed set of safety procedures, equipment and communication protocols for maritime distress.
- OWS Oily Water Separator
- Equipment that separates oil from bilge water using gravity and coalescence, with a 15 ppm alarm and automatic stop valve.
- PMS Planned Maintenance System
- Software that schedules and records maintenance tasks, due jobs and machinery history.
- Class society
- An organization (DNV, ABS, Lloyd’s Register, IRS, NK, KR…) that sets and verifies technical standards for ship construction and operation.
- Flag state
- The jurisdiction under whose laws a ship is registered (e.g. Panama, Marshall Islands, Liberia, India), responsible for enforcing regulations on its vessels.
- DWT Deadweight Tonnage
- A measure of how much weight a ship can safely carry - cargo, fuel, stores, crew and water.
- Drydock
- A scheduled period out of the water for major inspection, survey and repair of the hull and underwater machinery.
Questions, answered
No. General LLMs have never read a SOLAS code or an OEM purifier manual, and they have no memory of your vessel. ShipSmith is maritime intelligence - trained on class rules, flag circulars, OEM manuals, ISM checklists and PSC patterns, and fine-tuned per vessel so answers reflect your machinery and history.
Yes. A lightweight local instance runs onboard, pre-loaded with vessel-specific documents, so crew can query manuals, SOPs and logs even at sea. It syncs with the office system when connectivity is restored.
Your data stays in your environment. ShipSmith uses fleet-specific models; your data is not used to train external models or shared with third parties. Access is role-based - a cadet, an engineer, a master and a superintendent each see what is relevant to them.
ShipSmith understands and responds in multiple languages, including English, Hindi and Tagalog, with voice input for hands-busy work - so multinational crews can learn and operate in their own language.
It plugs into PMS, document management, inventory and procurement systems, and digital bridge or engine-room consoles where supported - all via secure, read-limited APIs governed by your policy.
A typical rollout is data ingestion (1–2 weeks), customization (1 week) and crew training (3–5 days), followed by a one-month pilot on 1–3 ships before full fleet go-live. No major software overhaul or crew replacement is required.
No - it empowers them. ShipSmith supports the junior engineer who is unsure, assists the chief preparing for PSC, and helps the captain with compliance. It is a trusted companion that makes life onboard easier, safer and more productive.