New research published by DNV reveals that less than half of maritime professionals think their organization is investing enough in cyber security at a time when vessels and other critical infrastructure are becoming increasingly networked and connected to IT systems.

While the maritime industry has focused on enhancing IT security over recent decades, the security of operational technology (OT) – which manages, monitors, controls and automates physical assets such sensors, switches, safety and navigation systems, and vessels – is a more recent and increasingly urgent risk. Three quarters (75%) of the 800 industry professionals surveyed by DNV believe that OT security is a significantly higher priority for their organization than it was just two years ago. Just one in three is confident that their organization’s OT cyber security is as strong as its IT security.

“The maritime industry is still thinking IT in an era of connected systems and assets,” says Svante Einarsson, Head of Maritime Cyber Security Advisory at DNV. “With ship systems being increasingly interconnected with the outside world, cyber-attacks on OT are likely to have a bigger impact in the future.”

DNV’s new research report Maritime Cyber Priority 2023: Staying secure in an era of connectivity reveals an almost universal expectation that cyber-attacks will disrupt ship operations in the coming years. Three quarters of maritime professionals believe a cyber incident is likely to force the closure of a strategic waterway (76%). More than half expect cyber-attacks to cause ship collisions (60%), groundings (68%), and even result in physical injury or death (56%) as an overwhelming majority (79%) of professionals say the industry considers cyber security risks to be as important as health and safety risks.

While this new era of connectivity is resulting in new vulnerabilities, it is also enabling new possibilities, according to DNV’s research. Some 87% of maritime professionals say the future of the industry relies on an increase in connected networks, and 85% say that connected technologies are helping the industry reduce emissions.

“Cyber security is a growing safety risk, perhaps even “the” risk for the coming decade,” says Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime at DNV. “But crucially, it is also an enabler of innovation and decarbonization. Because as we pursue greener, safer, and more efficient global shipping, the digital transformation of the industry is deeply dependent on securing these inter-connected assets. Making it vital that we work collaboratively to strengthen our collective cyber security.”

DNV’s wider Cyber Priority research explores the changing attitudes and approaches to cyber security in key industrial sectors, and includes a complementary report on the energy industry: Energy Cyber Priority: Closing the gap between awareness and action.

Stronger incoming regulations set a platform for cyber security investment

Tighter regulation of maritime cyber security is on the horizon as industry bodies and government authorities seek to encourage the sector to improve its security posture. Maritime organizations must prepare to comply with new rules, including the IACS Unified Requirements and the EU’s NIS2 Directive from 2024. Most maritime professionals believe that regulation provides the strongest motivator to unlock much-needed cyber security funding, according to DNV’s research. 84% believe that it will drive investment in cyber security, but only just over half are confident the effectiveness of cyber security regulation (56%) and in their ability to meet requirements. Just 36% of maritime professionals agree that complying with cyber security regulation is straightforward and almost half (44%) say that regulatory compliance requires technical knowledge that their organization does not possess in-house.

“Regulation only sets a baseline for cyber security. It doesn’t guarantee security. Rather than taking it as our goal, the maritime industry should use it as a foundation, on which to further improve and adapt to the changing threat landscape,” says Svante Einarsson, Head of Maritime Cyber Security Advisory, DNV. “As we have seen in the safety domain, regulation becomes more straightforward and effective when it is supported by industry players coming together to share knowledge. Our research indicates that the industry needs to take big steps forward in openly sharing cyber security experiences – the good, the bad and the ugly – to collectively create security best practice guidance for a safer, more sustainable maritime sector.”

Barely three in 10 (31%) maritime professionals believe that organizations are effective at sharing information and lessons learned around cyber security threats and incidents. This lack of transparency is reflected in the belief of the majority (60%) that the maritime industry lacks standards for building an effective, repeatable approach to cyber security.

In Maritime Cyber Priority 2023, DNV recommends maritime organizations take the following actions:

• Consider cyber security as an enabler
• Treat cyber risks like safety risks in an operational setting
• Champion insight-sharing across the industry
• Reframe regulation as the baseline to improve cyber security posture
• Rethink how to manage supply chain vulnerabilities
• Resource a strategy for more effective training
• Maintain an ‘analogue fallback option’ amid the shift to connected systems.

The first drone vertiport of the Netherlands became operational, following the landing of a multirotor drone in the presence of several invited guests.

Vertiport ‘Galileo’ is located on the Future Mobility Park site at Merwehaven in Rotterdam, with a similar vertiport being located at the RDM shipyard on the other side of the Nieuwe Maas. This configuration is a prototype for a network of vertiports in the port area.

Testing in practice

In the future, drones will be used for all kinds of tasks in the Rotterdam port area, ranging from carrying out inspections and monitoring to transporting packages. This requires the establishment of a strategic network of universal take-off and landing platforms for drones, known as vertiports.

However, some experimentation is needed before then, preferably in the most realistic setting possible. These two experimental vertiports meet that need. The challenge is not so much in the technology, emphasised Tsjerk Kooistra, the Director of Dutch Drone Company, the company performing the test flight. ‘Drones are still mainly used for inspections and the next step is logistics. We can already do a lot in terms of technology, but there are still many regulatory restrictions. This demo is just a first step in alerting industry to the developments so they know this is on its way.’ Drone operators are free to carry out test flights as long as they meet all the requirements.

Next step: BVLOS flights

For this test flight, the DJI M300 RTK drone was controlled by a pilot on location. The ultimate aim is for drones to fly Beyond Visual Line of Sight and for 1 operator to oversee multiple drone flights. Corridors between various areas also need to be established. Kooistra continued: ‘This enables new business cases such as freight transport and later human transport too. It’s time to put the theory into practice.’

The Port of Rotterdam Authority is playing a facilitating role in supporting drone operations in the port area. This includes providing digital support for drone traffic, which should ultimately enable large-scale operation of BVLOS flights.

Consortium partners

Vertiport ‘Galileo’ offers entrepreneurs and knowledge institutions an operational test environment to test drone services in the urban living environment within regular ‘time-slots’. This also enables simultaneous low-key demonstrations to be held. In addition to the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the organisations involved include: Future Mobility Park, IT partner Almende, drone operator Dutch Drone Company, helideck supplier Bayards, the municipality of Rotterdam and the Province of Zuid Holland.

Flanders, the northern region of Belgium, has announced Gateway²Britain, an innovative digital application that will bring visibility and transparency for trading with Flanders into one place. It is being delivered by a partnership between Port of Antwerp-Bruges, VLAIO, Flanders Investment & Trade and Deloitte. Their aim is to make trade between Flanders and Britain as frictionless as possible.

Traders are likely to be able to validate an initial version of Gateway²Britain by the end of this year. The application will allow traders to fill out just one dataset online, which is then automatically shared with all the relevant supply chain & logistics partners.

The UK is a significant trading partner for Flanders. Full-year trade figures for 2022 revealed that the total value of exports from the UK to Flanders amounted to 33.77 billion EUR. Imports into the UK from Flanders totaled 27.95 billion EUR, making the UK Flanders’ 4th highest export market. Flanders is in 16th position as a world goods exporter.

Research carried out among more thana thousand UK traders for Flanders Investment & Trade in May 20231 found that nearly 74% of UK companies agree2 that they had been forced to consider alternative markets due to the bureaucracy involved in trading with the EU post Brexit. Almost half of the respondents (48%) said they would trade more if the process was simplified and just over two in five (42%) had seen trade decrease with the EU since Brexit. The research was carried out for Flanders Investment & Trade by Censuswide.

Flanders is already a popular route into the EU for British companies due to its proximity to both the UK and Europe’s major business centres. A market of 400 million consumers is within 6 hours of the region, or 60% of Europe’s purchasing power. The world-leading seaports of Antwerp-Bruges, Ghent and Ostend are all in Flanders and the region has three international airports and sophisticated transport hubs, and over 650 European distribution centers. ​

Around 90% of British goods that are imported into Flanders are further processed and re-exported afterwards. Gateway²Britain will make Flanders an even more attractive route into the EU. No other EU country has yet been able to introduce a similar, comprehensive data-driven system to ease the friction created by Brexit.

The concept behind the new application will be further explained at Multimodal.

British companies who need help with trading with Flanders should contact Flanders Investment & Trade.

Minister-President of the Government of Flanders Jan Jambon currently visiting the UK commented: “Britain is an important trading partner for Flanders. We know from our research that British companies have been looking at alternative markets due to the bureaucracy involved post Brexit. Gateway²Britain signals the end of that bureaucracy. It makes life simple again, whilst meeting all the demands of the new rules.” ​ ​

Dirk Verlee, Trade and Investment Counsellor at Flanders Investment & Trade, based at the Belgian Embassy in London, explained the significance of Gateway²Britain for consumers; “Flanders is a key route in and out of the EU for British traders. This means that if Gateway²Britain solves the challenges of Brexit in Flanders, supply issues that have affected the UK should also be solved.”
Annick De Ridder, Vice-Mayor of the City of Antwerp and President of the board of directors of Port of Antwerp-Bruges: “Port of Antwerp-Bruges has a long tradition of facilitating the supply chain and is fully committed to digitalization. The building blocks are in place to make our world port the ideal candidate to realize the vision behind Gateway2Britain. And that for the widest possible range of stakeholders. As a major export port to the UK, we also see this as an important opportunity for our own competitiveness, Flemish logistics and, by extension, a reinforcement of the economic engine we are for Flanders.”