Digitalisation has changed the way ships are designed, built and operated, yet many vessels still rely on disconnected software that becomes harder to manage over time. Fincantieri believes shipowners need a digital foundation that evolves alongside the vessel, allowing new applications, services and capabilities to be introduced long after delivery.
That thinking sits behind the Fincantieri Digital Ecosystem (FDE), the platform powering the company’s Navis Sapiens programme. Built around an open digital architecture connecting ship and shore, the ecosystem is designed to support software deployment, over-the-air updates and artificial intelligence while giving shipowners greater flexibility over a vessel’s digital lifecycle.
“We would like to move from selling the ships and taking care of the ships during the warranty period to asset servicing,” said Marco Sabatini, Chief Technology Officer of Fincantieri NexTech and head of the Navis Sapiens programme.
“The idea here is to use a technology which evolves with time. Not only the technology, but also the applications and services are learning during operations. All of the infrastructure, applications and digital services are upgraded over the air seamlessly.”
Building a common digital foundation
For Sabatini, one of the biggest obstacles facing maritime digitalisation is the number of isolated applications operating across a vessel. Many systems use their own data models, making upgrades more difficult and limiting the value that can be extracted from operational data.
Fincantieri’s response is a three-layer digital architecture. At its foundation is a platform that gathers information from multiple onboard domains, including automation, safety, security, passenger systems and vessel networks. Above it sits an application layer where software uses shared data to deliver functions such as digital twins, energy management and decision support. The third layer acts as a marketplace where Fincantieri, shipowners and third-party developers can deploy and manage digital services.
Rather than focusing on individual applications, the company wants to establish a common digital environment that can support vessels throughout their operational lives.
“We need an open architecture,” Sabatini said. “But more than an open architecture, we need actually a common data model. The data model should be a common framework. There needs to be data sharing and a common data model that would boost interoperability among different stakeholders.”
The same philosophy extends across fleets. By defining a common digital standard, shipowners can deploy the same architecture across newbuilds and retrofits, reducing engineering effort while simplifying software management. Applications can also be updated remotely through over-the-air deployment, allowing new capabilities to be introduced without extensive onboard intervention.
Fincantieri has already taken that approach beyond development. The first Navis Sapiens vessel entered service earlier this year, providing the first operational deployment of the FDE platform.
AI built around the crew
Artificial intelligence forms another layer of the platform, although Sabatini stressed that its purpose is to support crews rather than replace them.
The company already applies predictive AI to maintenance, using machine learning to analyse historical equipment data and identify potential failures before they occur. The next stage introduces generative AI to interpret information arriving from multiple onboard systems and provide operational guidance.
“So it’s not substituting the human. It’s human in the loop,” Sabatini said. “It makes the human more aware of what’s going on and it can make more proper decisions, or decision making support.”
Fincantieri is also developing agentic AI that can coordinate activities across several onboard systems. Sabatini described a scenario where software detects a pump wearing faster than expected, checks whether it can continue operating safely, identifies a suitable port with the required spare parts and begins arranging maintenance before the vessel arrives.
He also envisions ships exchanging operational knowledge across the fleet, allowing vessels travelling on similar routes to compare performance and recommend digital capabilities that improve efficiency.
Cybersecurity remains part of that strategy. Drawing on expertise developed for naval programmes, Fincantieri combines commercial technologies with its own software layer to monitor both IT and operational technology environments. Rather than presenting crews with complex technical information, the system translates cyber events into guided operational advice so action can be taken immediately.
Looking beyond delivery
Sabatini believes the role of digital technology will continue to expand as ships become more connected and capable of carrying out routine operational tasks with greater autonomy.
“I think the ships will become more and more autonomous,” he said. “Most of the operations will be delegated to the ships with human in the loop. This would optimise everything from power consumption to revenue onboard through the technology and the connectivity.”
The overall outcome of this approach is that shipowners can operate a vessel that increases its value throughout its lifetime, while reducing the risk of technological obsolescence. Using the Navis Sapiens metaphor, the ship becomes increasingly intelligent, learning from experience and adapting its behaviour as it accumulates miles at sea.
For Fincantieri, Navis Sapiens is intended to extend the relationship between shipbuilder and shipowner well beyond handover. Instead of treating software as a fixed element of a newbuild, the company wants vessels to receive new capabilities throughout their service life, giving operators a platform that can adapt as technology and operational requirements evolve.
