Dualog launches Workspace for secure ship–shore collaboration

in International Shipping News 01/08/2026

Dualog, a Norway-based maritime cloud communications provider serving more than 8,000 vessels across hundreds of shipping companies, has launched Workspace, a secure collaboration platform designed specifically for the operational realities of shipping. The platform brings seafarers and shore-based teams into a single, identity-secured environment, offering an alternative to the fragmented mix of email, personal messaging apps and generic office software commonly used across fleets.

Workspace is structured around vessels, ranks and crew rotations. Its first service, Chat, provides ship- and rank-based messaging, as well as audio and video calling, with controlled access and full traceability.

A recent Dualog survey highlights the scale of the information-management challenge at sea. Forty-four percent of seafarers identified excessive email traffic as a major frustration, while 74% said information is lost during handovers. Meanwhile, 70% said they already use personal messaging apps, including WhatsApp, for work-related communication. The reliance on consumer-grade apps raises particular concern given the maritime sector's heightened exposure to cyber incidents, as demonstrated by the 2017 NotPetya attack that crippled one of the world's largest carriers' IT systems at an estimated cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Generic office software, which is typically licensed to individual users, can lead maritime companies to rely on shared, role-based accounts that weaken accountability. The launch also comes as IMO MSC-FAL.1/Circ.3/Rev.3 and IACS Unified Requirements E26 and E27 place greater emphasis on unique user identities, controlled access and traceability. These requirements build on IMO Resolution MSC.428(98), which since 2021 has required shipowners to incorporate cyber risk management into their safety management systems, making tools designed around individual identity and auditability increasingly central to compliance.

Workspace is designed around the structure of maritime operations. Users are grouped automatically by vessel, rank and rotation, allowing communication channels to serve an entire fleet, an individual ship or a specific rank.

Integration with crew management systems enables access to be granted and revoked as personnel rotate, reducing the need for manual onboarding and offboarding. Every user operates under an individual identity rather than a shared login, ensuring that messages and actions can be traced to a specific person.

The platform is also designed for the connectivity constraints of operations at sea, with offline-tolerant messaging that allows communication to continue during periods of limited or intermittent bandwidth.

Incoming crew can access relevant communication history, helping to reduce information loss and improve handovers. Reporting and approval processes can follow a consistent path from vessel to shore, while real-time messaging enables operational questions to be resolved more quickly. Because access is linked to individual identity and crew rotation, permissions remain current as personnel move between assignments.

"Crew and shore teams have spent years relying on tools that were never designed for the maritime environment," said Silje Moan, Chief Commercial Officer at Dualog. "Workspace changes that by providing one place where communication follows the way a fleet operates, secure, traceable and prepared for evolving regulatory expectations. This is the direction in which maritime communication is moving, and Dualog intends to support shipping companies throughout that transition."

Chat is the first of several services planned for Workspace. Files, Mail and a native AI assistant are scheduled to follow in the coming months, bringing document sharing, email and fleet insights into the same secure environment. The planned AI assistant arrives as several maritime technology vendors are introducing machine-learning tools for fleet operations, though adoption remains uneven across the industry. By combining these services under a single user identity, Workspace aims to help shipping companies improve collaboration, strengthen accountability and reduce the administrative burden on crews and shore-based teams.

Dualog will present Workspace at SMM 2026 in Hamburg from 1–4 September in Hall B6, Stand 609. Vessel IT, fleet management and operations teams are invited to visit the stand for a live demonstration. Visitors can also attend The Dualog Arctic Delights, the company's signature SMM event, at the stand on Wednesday, 2 September at 14:00.

Source: Dualog