Through a joint venture with Wilhelmsen Ship Management, the Hamburg-based shipping and finance group MPC Capital aims to benefit from the growing demand for smart ship IT.
The core of the collaboration with the Norwegians is the new joint company Waterway IT. Under this umbrella, the ship IT activities of both partners are to be brought together on a single global platform. From today, Waterway IT will “act as an independent provider of onboard IT solutions with global reach”, the partners announced.
A structural change in the shipping industry is cited as the background to the collaboration: As ships become increasingly networked and digitally integrated, onboard IT infrastructure has become a business-critical component of modern fleet operations. Cybersecurity, reliable connectivity, regulatory compliance and the seamless integration of digital applications would now form the backbone of safe and efficient ship management.
This is not the first time that MPC Capital has established a structural cooperation with the Wilhelmsen Group. In 2023, the two companies took over the German ship manager Zeaborn. A joint venture between Wilhelmsen and the MPC subsidiary Ahrenkiel Steamship had already been launched in 2020. MPC has also recently expanded its own portfolio with other partners and “solo” ventures, including an investment platform for second-hand ships with Storm Capital and entering the market for offshore vessels.
Sondre Mortensvik will be CEO of Waterway IT. Commenting on the launch, he said: “A reliable and secure onboard IT infrastructure is essential for modern ship operations. With Waterway IT, we are creating a global platform with the scale and expertise to support customers in this transformation.” The company provides a modular IT stack for ships, hybrid connectivity, cyber security and global support as an integrated service. All systems are specifically designed for maritime operations and are managed centrally for the entire fleet.
Florian zum Felde, Chief Commercial Officer of Waterway IT, sees the approach as an opportunity to reduce the complexity of managing different on-board IT systems: “Instead of having to deal with multiple providers, inconsistent systems and unpredictable IT costs, our customers receive a standardized and fully managed IT environment from a single source.”
According to the company, Waterway IT is currently managing around 400 ships for around 70 customers with a team of 45 IT experts. The company operates from Hamburg, Oslo, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Bangalore. In addition to Mortensvik and Zum Felde, the management team also includes Jasen See as COO, based in Kuala Lumpur.
