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The maintenance of a container ship operating in the Red Sea has little in common with that of a ship elevator installed in a port on the Indian Ocean. And yet, these two activities share common challenges: centralizing technical information, tracking interventions, controlling costs and meeting ever-increasing regulatory requirements.
BoatOn continues to expand in this field, with two new contracts signed with the Grand Port Maritime de La Réunion and Djibouti Shipping Company.
Why maintenance is becoming a strategic issue for ports
The Grand Port Maritime de La Réunion occupies a special position in the Indian Ocean. Located on the routes linking Europe, Africa and Asia, it concentrates several major maritime activities: trade, defense, fishing, ship repair and cruises.
As part of its digital modernization program, the port is continuing to digitalize its operations through its Smart Port strategy.
One of these is the Dock Titan, billed as France's largest ship elevator. With a length of 120 meters, a width of 32 meters and a lifting capacity of 4,600 tons, it plays a central role in the region's ship maintenance activities.
For this type of installation, technical management is a constant challenge. Every intervention must be documented, planned and archived to guarantee equipment availability and operational safety.
How do you centralize the maintenance of complex infrastructures?
One of the main challenges facing port infrastructures is the dispersal of information. Service history, stock management, spare parts orders, regulatory documents and technical inspection monitoring are often spread across several tools or media.
The BoatOn Book is used by the Dock Titan teams as a coordination platform. The software includes maintenance scheduling, spare parts tracking and document management.
For technical managers, the main objective is to maintain complete traceability of work carried out on equipment whose unavailability can have major consequences for port activity.
The merchant navy faces increasing regulatory constraints
The second contract concerns the Africa Sun, a container ship operated by Djibouti Shipping Company and chartered by CMA CGM.
The ship makes regular rounds between Djibouti, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Kenya, in a maritime zone subject to major operational constraints. On board, digitalization meets different needs from those encountered in a port.
Shipowners are responsible for equipment maintenance, crew management, compliance with international maritime safety rules and social regulations applicable to seafarers.
In this context, replacing the paper logbook with a digital solution is often the first step in a broader transformation of on-board procedures.
ISM, MLC and crew management compliance: increasingly onerous obligations
International maritime regulations impose a high volume of administrative tasks on shipowners.
The ISM (International Safety Management) code requires rigorous documentation of maintenance operations and safety procedures. The MLC (Maritime Labour Convention) governs seafarers' working conditions, including rest periods and duty hours.
The software deployed on the Africa Sun centralizes these various obligations through several modules dedicated to maintenance, purchasing, regulatory certificates and personnel management.
Shared access between onboard crew and shore teams is also an important element in the operation of modern armaments, where the rapid circulation of information is becoming essential.
