Orca AI’s new Co-Captain links ships to share real-time risks, boosting safety, efficiency and decision support at sea.
In a major leap for maritime safety and digital navigation, London-based Orca AI has unveiled ‘Co-Captain’, a new system that allows vessels to share live operational data and intelligence with other ships on the network. The real-time connectivity aims to improve navigation, reduce risks, and enhance decision-making at sea.
Founded in Tel Aviv in 2018, Orca AI’s network already includes 1,000 connected ships, with 500 more expected to join in the coming months, rapidly expanding what could become one of the world’s most accurate crowdsourced maritime intelligence platforms.
Company co-founder and CEO Yarden Gross says Co-Captain will enable ships to exchange critical information on weather, port congestion, navigational hazards, accidents, piracy, GNSS interference, fuel efficiency, environmental compliance, and local regulations. Shore-based managers will also receive real-time situational updates, enabling faster responses and improved operational efficiency.
Each vessel acts as a node in the global system, continuously detecting risks. Data is securely uploaded to the cloud, where anonymised alerts are pushed to nearby or intersecting vessels. Officers sailing through challenging waters, Gross says, will gain much-needed reassurance from this “collective awareness.”
As more ships connect across more oceans, Co-Captain’s risk detection engine will grow exponentially stronger, delivering voyage-based alerts, early warnings, and centralised situational awareness.
“This could very well be the most accurate crowdsourced navigation engine in shipping,” Gross declared. With 90% of world trade moving by sea, he argues, collaborative navigation is now a safety, environmental, and security imperative.
High-profile clients include Greek shipowning groups such as the Lemos family’s Enesel Group, Ionic Shipping, Maran Tankers Management, and TMS Cardiff Gas, alongside global operators MSC, NYK, and Seaspan.
However, the technology’s name sparked debate. At a recent seminar in Singapore, Captain Giorgos Asteros of Maran Tankers expressed discomfort with the “Co-Captain” branding, arguing it raises concerns over the perceived authority granted to AI alongside human officers on the bridge, a topic that continues to divide the industry.
With safety pressures rising and vessel traffic intensifying, Orca AI’s Co-Captain aims to chart a smarter, safer, more connected future at sea, one shared data packet at a time.
Source: Seatrade maritime news
