MAR.01
Vessel Documentation
Bills of lading, manifests, DG declarations and statements of facts extracted and cross-checked, with laytime drafted from the charter party. Issuing and signing stay human.
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Maritime AI,
from bill of lading to berth.
The master and the agent still sign. Ship documents, port calls and emissions reporting for owners, operators, agents and ports. The system reads, cross-checks and plans; the master, the agent, the harbour master and the verifier keep their signatures.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026 · Engineering guidance, not legal or regulatory advice.
In context
Maritime AI means applying models to the documents, schedules and sensor data that shipping runs on: bills of lading, statements of facts, AIS positions, noon reports and bunker delivery notes. We build the shore-side layer, where most of the paperwork and planning time goes.
Where it breaks today
01
Every call is a document set
Bills of lading, manifests, dangerous goods declarations, crew lists, FAL forms, notices of readiness, statements of facts. They are produced by different parties, rarely agree perfectly, and the disagreements become claims.
02
Ships hurry up to wait
Vessels sail at full speed to anchor outside a port for days. The ETA, the berth window and the pilot booking live in different emails and systems, and nobody holds one version of the plan.
03
Emissions now cost money
The EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime have turned fuel data into a financial liability. Noon reports, bunker delivery notes and tank soundings disagree, and the figure that reaches the verifier has to be defensible.
OUR APPROACH
AI in shipping, on the shore side
Much of what is written about AI in the maritime industry concerns the bridge: collision avoidance, autonomous vessels, route optimisation. Those are serious engineering programmes with class society approval behind them. We work on the shore side, where operators, chartering desks, agents and ports spend most of their time on documents, messages and data reconciliation.
The rule is the same throughout. The system reads and cross-checks; it does not sign. A bill of lading is issued by the carrier or the master. A notice of readiness is tendered by the master. A berth is allocated by the port. An emissions report is verified by an accredited verifier. Our work is to make sure each of those people has a complete, consistent and cited picture when they act.
Integration is most of the job: voyage management systems such as Veson IMOS, port community systems, terminal operating systems such as Navis N4, AIS feeds and the European Maritime Single Window environment as it rolls out. For cargo moving inland after discharge, the same document pipeline extends into logistics.
HOW IT DEPLOYS
PHASE 01
Pick one recurring document
Statements of facts, bunker delivery notes or bills of lading. We sample real ones, including bad scans, and agree the fields that matter.
PHASE 02
Cross-check and cite
Extracted values are compared across the documents that should agree, and every value links to its page. Disagreements become an exceptions queue.
PHASE 03
Feed the systems you run
Accepted values flow into your voyage system, port community system or emissions tool, with an audit trail the verifier or claims handler can follow.
What we build
01
Vessel Documentation
Bills of lading, manifests, statements of facts and FAL forms extracted and cross-checked, with laytime and demurrage calculations drafted from the charter party clauses.
SEE VESSEL DOCUMENTATION →02
Port Call Planning
ETA prediction from AIS and agent messages, berth window coordination and service bookings held to one plan, supporting just-in-time arrival.
SEE PORT CALL PLANNING →03
Emissions Reporting
Noon reports, bunker delivery notes and soundings reconciled per voyage into EU MRV, EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime figures, ready for the verifier.
SEE EMISSIONS REPORTING →04
Logistics Document Pipeline
The same extraction and cross-checking carried inland: customs, transport and delivery documents for cargo after it leaves the terminal.
SEE AI FOR LOGISTICS →Controls we implement
CITATION ON EVERY EXTRACTED VALUE
SOURCE DATA KEPT FOR THE VERIFIER
NO TRAINING ON YOUR DATA
NO WRITES TO SHIPBOARD SYSTEMS
HUMAN SIGN-OFF ON EVERY SUBMISSION
AUDIT LOG ON EVERY CHANGE
These are engineering controls we build into the architecture, not certifications. QQuantum.ai holds no security certifications, and the audits and attestations your sector requires remain yours to run — see our trust centre.
Maritime and port use cases
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MAR.02
Port Call Planning
Port call optimisation: ETAs predicted from AIS, berth proposals from a solver and pilot, tug and mooring bookings on one plan, with the port and the master deciding.
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MAR.03
Shipping Emissions Reporting
FuelEU Maritime, EU ETS and MRV data: noon reports, bunker delivery notes and soundings reconciled per voyage into figures an accredited verifier can trace to source.
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Questions
Questions about Maritime & Ports.
What is maritime AI?
Maritime AI is the use of machine learning, computer vision and language models in shipping and ports. On board, it covers navigation support, collision avoidance and machinery monitoring. Ashore, it covers voyage and fuel optimisation, ETA prediction, port and berth planning, sanctions screening, and the processing of the documents every voyage generates. Our work is on the shore-side document, planning and emissions layer.
How is AI used in shipping?
Common uses are route and speed optimisation from weather and engine data, predictive maintenance on machinery, ETA prediction from AIS positions, vessel tracking and sanctions screening, and document processing for bills of lading, statements of facts and charter parties. Increasingly it is also used to prepare emissions data for the EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime.
Can AI issue or sign shipping documents?
No. A bill of lading is issued by the carrier or signed on its behalf, a notice of readiness is tendered by the master, and declarations to port authorities are made by the responsible party. Our systems extract, cross-check and draft, so the person signing has a consistent and cited set of documents. Electronic bills of lading run on recognised platforms, which we can integrate with.
Does it work with our voyage management system?
Yes, through its interfaces. We commonly read from and write to voyage systems such as Veson IMOS, port community systems, terminal operating systems such as Navis N4, and AIS data providers. The integration is usually the largest part of the build.
What about cybersecurity on board?
We do not connect to shipboard operational systems or write to them. Data from the vessel arrives through the reporting channels you already use, such as noon reports and email. That keeps our systems outside the scope of the IMO and class cyber requirements for shipboard systems, which remain your programme.
