AI for Shipping and Ports With a Focus on Accuracy

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As shipping faces geopolitical crises, disruptions to maritime routes, regulatory demands and cyberattacks, UK-based Clarita Global Matrix Ltd is developing specialised artificial intelligence tools focused on accuracy and verification.

The company says its platforms for shipping, ports and other industries go beyond simply retrieving and reproducing stored information. Instead, they use specialised mathematical models designed to perform specific calculations.

Clarita founder and CEO Dimitrios Christodoulou says one of the main weaknesses of general AI systems lies in the consistency of their answers.

“If you ask AI the same question twice, you may get two different answers,” he says, arguing that while general AI works well for broad questions and information searches, it may not always suit situations that require absolute accuracy.

That distinction becomes particularly important in shipping, defence, industry and science, where an incorrect answer can have significant operational or financial consequences.

One Platform for Multiple Shipping Needs

Clarita aims to address the need for shipping companies and brokers to use multiple applications and subscription services.

A shipbroker or vessel manager may need separate platforms for port information, weather conditions, routes, freight rates, geopolitical developments and contractual obligations.

“We knew about this problem, so we created a single platform,” Christodoulou says.

The system can combine information about a destination port, weather, political and geopolitical conditions and other factors affecting a voyage, giving users a broader picture without requiring them to switch between multiple applications.

Neptune for Ships and Chartering

Clarita’s main shipping platform, Neptune, focuses on vessels, chartering, charter parties, fixtures, voyages and operational data.

The platform can compare contractual requirements with what actually happens during a voyage.

For example, it can consider a vessel’s arrival time, weather conditions, port congestion, delays and geopolitical developments and calculate how these factors affect the voyage and the financial or contractual obligations of the parties involved.

Christodoulou says the system performs calculations through mathematical models designed for specific tasks rather than simply retrieving stored information.

Protecting Digitised Ports

Clarita also focuses on ports, where digital systems now underpin many critical operations.

Terminal management systems, cranes, Vessel Traffic Services (VTS), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Port Community Systems form interconnected information networks.

A major cyberattack or failure affecting a critical system could disrupt vessel movements, cargo loading and unloading and the wider operation of a port.

Clarita has developed what it calls a “Port Trust Layer”, combining operational information, document verification and assessment of cryptographic readiness.

Preparing for Quantum Computing

Christodoulou also highlights quantum computing as an emerging challenge for cybersecurity.

Quantum computers operate differently from conventional computers and could eventually solve certain mathematical problems far faster. Their potential impact on existing encryption systems has become a major concern for the technology and scientific communities.

Christodoulou believes commercialisation of powerful quantum computers could arrive sooner than many expect and says organisations should begin preparing now.

He warns that sufficiently powerful quantum computers could eventually make some public-key encryption algorithms, including RSA, vulnerable. However, he stresses that current quantum computers cannot already break widely used modern encryption systems within minutes.

Clarita has developed Quantum Clarity Check, a tool designed to assess an organisation’s exposure to encryption methods that could become vulnerable in the era of powerful quantum computers.

The tool does not install new security systems. Instead, it provides an assessment of an organisation’s readiness and identifies infrastructure that may require future upgrades.

Accuracy Over Simple Answers

Clarita’s approach centres on the distinction between general AI that generates a likely answer and specialised systems designed to produce results that businesses can use for real-world decisions.

In shipping, a decision could involve a multimillion-dollar voyage, changing a vessel’s route or protecting critical port infrastructure.

That is where Clarita Global Matrix aims to position its technology: combining data, mathematical calculations and information verification so users can understand not only what a system tells them, but how much confidence they can place in the answer.

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