During its 96th session in 2016, the Maritime Safety Committee implemented a maritime cyber security framework for the first time,  named the “Interim guidelines on maritime cyber risk management”. These guidelines set the initial structure for dealing with the cyber threat through including recommendations to safeguard shipping from current and emerging cyber vulnerabilities and culminated in the IMO ICT regulations formed around the NIST framework which came into effect on 1 January 2021.

Navarino’s Quazar service aims to help shipping companies address and comply with these regulations fully. A core part of the Quazar offering is our Spectrum platform. Spectrum is a software suite of tools and processes designed to cater specifically to the needs of maritime IT managers. It offers a centralized platform for remote monitoring, maintenance and management of the entire IT and connectivity infrastructure onboard including network devices, satellite terminals, operating systems, applications and security measures. It offers a complete IT portfolio that helps to maximize efficiency and increase security while producing cost efficiencies and optimizing your business processes both onboard and onshore.

Spectrum’s Asset Management tool helps IT administrators at shipping companies to identify risks and address cyber security threats as part of their vessels Safety Management System. The most recent update to Spectrum introduces the ability to add risk assessment information into the platform for both Information Technology and Operational Technology equipment, which allows the criticality and likelihood of attacks to be assessed and which forms a key part of the IMO guidelines. For example, it allows you toidentify whether a wireless access point on board may be using an old version of firmware that leaves it open to security threats, and
to take the necessary actions required to rectify it with an update.

Constantinos Koutsouradis, Navarino’s Chief Digital Services Officer said ‘Faced with a vastly increased number of solutions, technological developments, regulations and requirements, IT managers face a heavy burden ensuring that their shipping companies can keep pace with digitalisation, often with limited resources to do so. Our Quazar service, in combination with Spectrum, is designed to lighten this load on IT managers and help ship operators enjoy the benefits of digitalisation without worrying about the time and cost involved in rolling out and supporting advanced ICT projects on their fleets’.

Our digital services offer the maritime industry the next step along its digitalization journey. Providing a holistic understanding and level of support which considers every aspect of the merchant shipping process; relieving IT managers of heavy day to day burdens whilst at the same time improving efficiency and empowering shipping companies with the ability to move forward with their overall ICT objectives.