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September 28, 2026
Originally published in ACTIO E-Magazine Edition 30 (September 2026). Law as of September 2026.
Expert: Syahraki Syahrir, Chief Executive Officer, Veda Praxis
Trust at sea used to be built on ships, ports, and relationships. Today it also depends on the reliability of digital systems, because every movement of goods is accompanied by a movement of data. Governance must therefore evolve from supervising individual organisations to enabling collaboration across an ecosystem of governments, regulators, businesses, and technology providers.
For centuries, the sea has connected people, markets, and nations. Ships carried goods across oceans, ports became centres of commerce, and maritime trade shaped the growth of economies. Trust was built through physical infrastructure, experienced people, and established business relationships. A port was trusted because it could handle cargo efficiently. A shipping company was trusted because it delivered goods safely. Contracts, regulations, and operational standards helped create confidence among the many parties involved in maritime trade.
Today, that foundation of trust is changing. Physical infrastructure remains essential, but it is no longer enough. Every movement of goods is now accompanied by the movement of data. Before a ship enters a port, digital systems exchange information about its arrival. Cargo information is processed electronically, customs documents are submitted through digital platforms, payments move through financial systems, and logistics companies rely on real-time information to plan deliveries.
This transformation has made the maritime sector more efficient than ever before. Information moves faster, decisions can be made more quickly, and organisations have better visibility across the supply chain. Activities that once required days can now be completed within hours. For an archipelagic nation such as Indonesia, this is an important development: a more connected maritime sector supports trade, strengthens national logistics, and creates new opportunities for economic growth.
Greater connectivity also creates greater dependence. Ports, shipping companies, logistics providers, customs authorities, banks, insurers, and technology companies are no longer connected only through commercial relationships. They are also connected through digital systems that allow information to move continuously between them. Every organisation may operate independently, but no organisation operates alone. The success of one participant increasingly depends on information, services, and decisions provided by many others.
This change is often invisible because digital systems are designed to work quietly in the background. Imagine a busy port where ships continue arriving, cranes remain fully operational, and trucks are waiting to collect containers. From the outside, everything appears normal. Yet cargo cannot leave the terminal because the digital systems supporting documentation, scheduling, or cargo information are unavailable. Nothing has happened to the physical infrastructure, but the flow of trade slows almost immediately because the flow of information has stopped.
A single shipment may involve shipping companies, port operators, terminal operators, logistics providers, customs authorities, financial institutions, insurers, and technology companies, each performing different roles while relying on the same flow of information. Many of the digital services supporting these activities are also provided by third parties, including cloud providers, telecommunications companies, software vendors, and managed service providers. Although these organisations may not move cargo themselves, they have become an important part of the maritime value chain.
Discussions about the blue economy should not only focus on ports, ships, fisheries, or marine resources. These remain essential, but they are now supported by another layer of infrastructure that receives far less attention. Digital platforms, communication networks, cloud services, and data have become just as important in enabling maritime activities. Without reliable digital systems, even the best physical infrastructure cannot operate at its full potential. As the maritime sector becomes more digital, the blue economy also becomes increasingly dependent on the reliability of the digital environment that supports it.
Government and regulations are equally important participants in this ecosystem. They establish the legal framework, set operational standards, oversee safety and security, facilitate trade, and create the conditions that allow different organisations to work together with confidence. As digital transformation continues, their role becomes even more important, because governance is no longer limited to supervising individual organisations. It also requires creating an environment where public institutions, private enterprises, technology providers, and supporting partners can coordinate effectively while managing shared risks and responsibilities.
This development changes the nature of trust. In the past, trust was built mainly through physical assets, contracts, and long-standing business relationships. Today, trust also depends on the reliability of digital systems. A port is considered reliable because the information attached to it is trusted. A bank processes trade finance because digital records are considered reliable. A logistics company plans its operations because it trusts the information received from ports, shipping companies, and customers. When confidence in these digital systems is weakened, organisations begin to question information, delay decisions, and rely more heavily on manual processes. Efficiency declines even though the physical infrastructure remains available.
It is easy to view concerns about cybersecurity only in technical terms. Cyber incidents certainly involve technology, but technology is rarely the whole story. Similar technologies are used by organisations around the world, yet the impact of a disruption can be very different. Some organisations recover quickly, while others experience prolonged operational and commercial consequences. The difference is often found not in the technology itself, but in how organisations make decisions, share information, understand their responsibilities, and work together during disruption.
Technology is changing more than ships, ports, and logistics systems. It is changing the relationships between organisations. As these relationships become stronger, governance can no longer focus only on how individual organisations manage themselves. It must also consider how organisations collaborate, coordinate decisions, manage shared risks, and maintain trust across an increasingly connected maritime environment.
The good news is that we do not have to start from scratch. Over the years, many internationally recognised governance and risk management frameworks have been developed, such as COBIT, ISO standards, COSO Enterprise Risk Management, and other recognised good practices. The challenge today is not the absence of frameworks. Rather, it is understanding how these frameworks can work together to support an environment where organisations are increasingly connected and dependent on one another.
This is where Digital Governance becomes increasingly important. Digital Governance is not simply about governing technology. It is about ensuring that strategy, governance, risk management, cybersecurity, data, regulation, and organisational decisions move in the same direction. More importantly, it provides a common language that enables governments, regulators, businesses, and technology partners to work together while recognising their different responsibilities.
The evolution also changes the way we think about risk. Risk management can no longer focus only on protecting the assets of a single organisation. It must also consider shared dependencies, third-party risks, digital supply chains, and the potential impact of disruptions across the wider maritime ecosystem. Managing these risks requires greater transparency, stronger collaboration, and a shared understanding that resilience is created collectively rather than individually.
What is digital trust in the maritime sector?
Confidence that the digital systems supporting trade, such as cargo information, customs platforms, payments, and logistics data, are reliable, so that organisations can plan, decide, and transact with confidence.
Can a port stop working without any physical damage?
Yes. If the digital systems supporting documentation, scheduling, or cargo information are unavailable, cargo cannot leave the terminal even though ships, cranes, and trucks are all operational.
Why is cybersecurity only part of the story?
Because similar technologies are used everywhere, yet the impact of a disruption differs. The difference often lies in how organisations make decisions, share information, understand responsibilities, and work together during disruption.
What is Digital Governance?
Not simply governing technology, but ensuring that strategy, governance, risk management, cybersecurity, data, regulation, and organisational decisions move in the same direction, with a common language for governments, regulators, businesses, and technology partners.
What is a Blue Economy Trust Ecosystem?
The source’s term for the next stage of maritime governance: governments, regulators, businesses, technology providers, and supporting partners working together under shared governance principles to maintain resilience, manage risk, and sustain trust in an increasingly digital maritime economy.
Ultimately, the future of the blue economy will depend not only on stronger technology, but also on stronger Digital Governance that builds trust across the entire ecosystem. Perhaps this is the next stage in the evolution of maritime governance: not simply governing ports, ships, or individual organisations, but creating a Blue Economy Trust Ecosystem, where governments, regulators, businesses, technology providers, and supporting partners work together under shared governance principles to maintain resilience, manage risk, and sustain trust in an increasingly digital maritime economy.
