Co-developed with leading cruise operators like HX Expeditions, the new step-by-step digital workflow connects to NAPA Logbook and NAPA Fleet Intelligence for live, fleet-wide safety oversight 

NAPA, the global provider of maritime software and data services, has launched NAPA Checklist, a new product that replaces paper and static PDF checklists with a guided digital workflow. Co-developed and launched with HX Expeditions, NAPA Checklist is now being rolled out across the operator’s expedition cruise ship fleet in some of the most demanding and remote waters in the world. Three further operators are already actively using NAPA Checklist, one of which has run the product on board for over a year and another of which has rolled it out across almost its entire fleet.

NAPA Checklist walks crew through each procedure in the correct order, records every action automatically with a timestamp and the name of the person who completed it. Completed tasks feed directly to NAPA Logbook, eliminating duplicate data entry. Through NAPA Fleet Intelligence, shore teams can build and publish updated checklist templates to one vessel or the entire fleet in minutes and monitor completion status across all vessels in real time.

In 2024, total ship losses fell to a record low, down approximately 75% over the decade, while reported incidents rose roughly 10% to 3,310 (Allianz). The human element is present in 78.8% of investigated casualties, and almost half, 43.6%, of the corrective actions relate to procedures: a step missed, taken out of order, or signed off when it was not completed (EMSA). At the same time, more than half of seafarers (54%) report a heavier workload driven by the energy transition and growing regulatory demands (ISWAN). As the paperwork keeps growing but the working day stays the same, the pattern points to cognitive overload rather than human error.

NAPA Checklist is designed to address this directly. The correct, current procedure is built into every task, execution is guided, and the record is written as the work happens. Completed checklists then feed back into NAPA Logbook and shoreside NAPA Fleet Intelligence platform automatically, removing a second round of data entry. This lifts the cognitive load of remembering every compliance procedure detail and gives the crew their time and attention back.

NAPA Checklist has two components:  

• The NAPA Checklist App is a mobile-first application used on board, presenting each checklist as an automated and guided workflow in the correct order with the current approved procedure built in.

• Then the NAPA Checklist Editor sits inside NAPA Fleet Intelligence, where shore-based safety and compliance teams create and update templates and publish them to one vessel or the entire fleet in minutes and can also monitor live shipboard data in real-time.

This ensures every ship always runs the current and approved checklists following compliance. The status (complete, in progress, overdue) is visible fleet-wide from shoreside without calling the ship. And timestamped, named records are available instantly for class and port state control inspections.

The product can be configured for mandatory checklists, required under ISM and SOLAS, as well as an operator’s own internal Safety Management System (SMS).

The distinction that NAPA draws is between digitizing and digitalizing. Putting a paper checklist on a screen changes nothing on its own. NAPA Checklist changes the work itself: it guides the crew through each step in order, carries the current procedure into the task, and records the work as it happens. That cuts duplicate admin and feeds one shared record. It is also connected, not standalone. As part of the NAPA Safety Solutions suite, alongside NAPA Stability, NAPA Emergency Computer, NAPA Logbook and NAPA Fleet Intelligence, it runs on a shared ship-to-shore data layer, from the stability model set at the shipyard through to the logbook. The result is one consistent, shore-visible record instead of another siloed system.

NAPA Checklist has been developed with officers and crew from leading cruise and expedition operators since autumn 2024, a co-development approach that NAPA attributes to strong adoption rates across every deployment to date.

Vsevolod Pashkov, Maritime Compliance Manager and CSO, HX Expeditions, commented: “Operating in remote environments requires a balance of consistency and practical flexibility. We co-developed NAPA Checklist because we wanted a tool built around how our crews actually work. We expect it to bring greater consistency and efficiency to daily operations on board, reduce duplicate admin, and improve real-time information flow between ship and shore.”

Sami Koponen, Product Owner, NAPA Checklist, NAPA, said: “There is a meaningful difference between putting a form on a screen and building a guided workflow that carries the correct procedure into the task, records it as it happens, and connects to the rest of what the ship already runs on. We built NAPA Checklist with crew from the beginning, which is why adoption has been strong everywhere it has been deployed. The goal was always to reduce the load on the people doing the work, not to add another system to manage.”

Esa Henttinen, EVP Safety Solutions, NAPA, added: “The safety gains of the last decade were largely structural; better ship design, better stability, better emergency response. The data tells us the next decade is won in daily operations, where most incidents start. The human element sits behind nearly four out of five investigated casualties, and NAPA Checklist is built on a simple premise: take away the cognitive load that does not need a person and give attention back to work that does.”