Navigating the digital wave with Rakuten Maritime’s vision for safer seas

The modern commercial vessel is far more than a steel hull moving cargo across oceans. Today’s fleets operate as floating smart cities, relying on a complex web of automation, cloud data and autonomous systems to sustain global trade. Navigating this hyper-connected reality requires a fundamental overhaul of maritime safety, a challenge that has brought Rakuten Maritime straight to the forefront of industrial security.

This digital integration leaves vessels exposed to sophisticated cyber threats. For an industry that underpins the global economy by moving over 80% of international trade, maritime cybersecurity is no longer a localized IT issue but a critical matter of global supply chain safety. A single incident can disrupt vessel operations, port activities and logistics networks far beyond an individual ship.

This effort reached a definitive turning point in July 2026, when Rakuten Maritime and South Korean shipbuilding giant Hanwha Ocean announced the official commercial rollout of their integrated cybersecurity platform. Moving from strategic ecosystem partnerships to active market deployment, the agreement represents a practical milestone in market execution, establishing how Rakuten Maritime brings cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and ecosystem value to heavy industry on a global scale.

Building a global platform with industry experts

The global expansion of Rakuten Maritime builds on a deep commitment to collaboration and specialized engineering. Launched in December 2024, the service was built around a core realization: modern vessels require cybersecurity measures mapped directly to their physical design, construction and maritime operations. Unlike a standard land-based corporate network where IT threats are confined to data and laptops, a cyber vulnerability on an open-sea vessel can directly compromise critical propulsion, steering and industrial machinery.

By collaborating with specialized maritime cybersecurity innovators like Cytur and aligning with international safety bodies, Rakuten Maritime has systematically built a trusted global standard. This momentum began with ClassNK endorsements in mid-2025, followed by a Safety4Sea Award in October and a Novel Technology Approval from RINA. The streak culminated in May 2026 with a landmark strategic framework alongside the American Bureau of Shipping, providing the regulatory credentials needed to operate at scale with major global shipbuilders.

“What made this journey so rewarding was the chance to build a real bridge between the tech world and traditional maritime engineering,” says Sunoa Jang, Head of Business Development at Rakuten Maritime. “Our team spent eighteen months working alongside industry experts to ensure our platform spoke their language and truly enhanced their safety ecosystems. Securing these major validations is a massive milestone for us, and it shows what can happen when you bring modern software innovation to global heavy industry.”

The cybersecurity-by-design advantage

This deployment addresses a long-standing structural challenge in the maritime industry. Historically, vessel cybersecurity has been largely reactive, treated as a secondary feature patched onto a ship long after it left the shipyard. Rakuten Maritime’s security-by-design approach reverses this model by integrating threat assessment and risk mitigation directly into the commercial shipbuilding pipeline. Under this new agreement, Hanwha Ocean will deploy specialized modules developed with Cytur across the entire construction lifecycle.

This includes utilizing Threat Intelligence and Threat Modeler during the design phase, followed by Scanner, Threat Analysis and Risk Manager during production and delivery.

By utilizing these threat modeling tools on the drawing board, shipbuilders can identify and address cyber risks before construction even begins. Hanwha Ocean will also deploy the portable scanning technology for onboard equipment risk assessments on selected vessels currently under construction. This preventive approach systematically eliminates vulnerabilities, reducing operational risks and potential mitigation costs after the vessel is delivered to the open sea.

“For a long time, the maritime sector treated cybersecurity as an afterthought, either a localized IT issue or just a checklist exercise for compliance,” says Ryan Son, President of Rakuten Symphony’s Internet Services Business Unit and Head of Rakuten Maritime. “The Hanwha Ocean rollout proves that the market reality has completely changed. Global shipbuilders now see that cybersecurity must be part of the ship’s DNA from day one. It is no longer optional; it is a fundamental business necessity to keep the global supply chain moving safely.”

Meeting the new global standard

This commercial push for early-stage security comes at a critical time. New mandates from the International Association of Classification Societies, specifically UR E26 and E27, have made strict cyber resilience a mandatory rule for modern shipbuilding contracts.

As shipyards and vessel operators globally scramble to navigate these tightening compliance laws alongside their digital transformation goals, Rakuten Maritime is stepping in as a primary entry point for scalable safety.

By embedding cybersecurity directly into the DNA of international shipping, this partnership demonstrates that true digital resilience begins before a ship ever touches the water. This proactive model ensures that the modern supply chain can safely navigate toward a secure, efficient and automated future.