“AIS data may entertain the public, but it misleads professionals.”
The reliability of AIS data is increasingly questioned due to its inherent limitations and vulnerabilities. The system often produces missing or fragmentary information, as signal interruptions or transponder faults remove key details such as speed or course. Transmission frequency can be irregular, with some critical updates occurring at intervals longer than two minutes, creating serious gaps in situational awareness. Data integrity is further undermined by deliberate switching off, jamming, or spoofing, which falsify or obscure a vessel’s true position. Coverage gaps persist in remote areas, and in congested regions signal congestion frequently causes reports to be lost, resulting in inconsistent and unreliable tracking across global networks.
“When data is inaccurate, every decision becomes a calculated risk.”
For shipowners and operators, unreliable AIS information leads to poor coordination and reactive management. Without accurate, high-frequency operational data, it becomes impossible to evaluate vessel performance, monitor compliance, or verify route adherence in real time. This limitation forces a dependence on manual crew reporting, which is frequently delayed, inconsistent, or prone to human error. Routine tasks such as voyage planning, port coordination, and incident response rely on fragmented updates, resulting in inefficiency, increased operational risk, and reduced commercial transparency — a critical vulnerability in today’s data-driven shipping environment.
“From uncertainty to clarity — real data, in real time.”
NPATH Conning conveys live sensor data from the vessel’s bridge to a secure cloud platform through an intelligent onboard SmartHub that unifies every bridge system, digital or analogue, into a single verified stream. GPS, AIS, gyrocompass, radar, ECDIS, speed log, echo sounder, autopilot, RPM, torque, and wind sensors are all connected through this modular hub, which authenticates, processes, and transmits data continuously. Core navigation parameters are sampled every 10 seconds, while other operational inputs are updated every minute. Even during connectivity interruptions, all information is locally buffered and automatically synchronised once the link is restored, eliminating blind spots and guaranteeing a complete voyage record. Each transmission is one-way and end-to-end encrypted, ensuring compliance with maritime cyber-security standards and maintaining verified data integrity at all times.
“Precision in data, confidence in management.”
This continuous flow of authenticated information shares the present, past, and future of every vessel’s track — enabling complete route playback, real-time situational awareness, and predictive analysis for shore-based teams. Through this secure bridge between ship and cloud, NPATH Conning replaces uncertainty with precision, transforming fragmented reports into one continuous, reliable source of truth.
“Beyond monitoring, towards predictive, connected, and intelligent shipping.”
NPATH Conning is not simply a monitoring tool, it is the foundation of a learning, predictive, and truly connected maritime intelligence system. Built on verified operational data rather than simulations, its purpose extends far beyond observation. By comparing multiple voyages over the same routes, the system can accurately evaluate vessel efficiency, identifying subtle performance losses that may indicate fouled hulls, propeller inefficiency, or the need for maintenance actions such as hull cleaning. Each voyage becomes a data-driven benchmark, a living record from which the vessel continually learns and improves. As the platform evolves, we envision it analysing each vessel’s real-time behaviour when facing heavy weather, learning from actual performance to recommend the most efficient RPM and heading, improving safety and reducing fuel-oil consumption. It will interpret the actions of Officers of the Watch to identify training needs and highlight where human performance can be enhanced. Its route-planning intelligence will mature to recognise regional traffic patterns, seasonal fishing concentrations, and forecasted weather systems, creating smarter passages that minimise navigational risk, optimise voyage time, and further cut fuel consumption. In the same spirit, NPATH Conning will integrate operational data with port and coastal information, allowing managers to anticipate supply needs and locate assistance instantly during emergencies, removing the time-consuming communication chains that slow today’s responses. This vision remains open and progressive, every voyage, every data point, and every lesson bringing us closer to a unified decision-support ecosystem where precision, prediction, and connectivity redefine how the maritime world makes decisions.
