At NavigatX, we are proud to partner with the most esteemed names in the maritime industry. The relationships we have built are deliberate and every partner we work with offers technology that raises the standard across the bridge, and most importantly, the standard of safety at sea.
SEA.AI not only meets those standards, it exceeds them.
We sat down with Marcus Warrelmann, CEO of SEA.AI, to ask about companies’ inception, the technology, and why it belongs on the modern bridge.
Image credit – SEA.AI.
What Spurred The Inception Of SEA.AI?
“SEA.AI was born from a real problem – collisions with semi-submerged objects, floating debris, and small undetected vessels remain a leading cause of incidents at sea. Conventional systems like radar and AIS cannot detect these hazards.
Founded in 2018 by Raphaël Biancale, an automotive engineer, and Gaëtan Gouérou, a maritime industry veteran, the company combined computer vision expertise from automotive safety with deep knowledge from IMOCA offshore racing – where detection failures have catastrophic consequences. By 2020, over half of the Vendée Globe fleet relied on SEA.AI.The goal was never to replace the mariner – it was to give them a second set of eyes that never blinks, never tires, and never loses focus.”
How Do The AI Cameras Work?
“SEA.AI systems integrate low-light optical cameras and thermal imaging with proprietary AI software that processes visual data in real time. The AI identifies hazards – containers, swimmers, small vessels, whales, channel markers – and classifies them automatically.
When a potential threat is detected, the crew receives an immediate visual and audio alert showing the object’s bearing, distance, and a cropped image. The system can detect a person in the water up to 700 metres away, a dinghy up to 3,000 metres, and motorboats up to 7,500 metres.
As of late 2025, SEA.AI had collected and annotated more than 80 million real-world maritime images to train its models – giving the system exceptional reliability in conditions where human vision fails: at night, in rain, haze, and glare.”
Image credit – SEA.AI
How is AI Enhancing Current Bridge Technology, and Where is it Heading?
“SEA.AI complements conventional navigation tools by providing visual awareness that radar, AIS, and chart displays cannot. Radar detects metal objects; AIS tracks transmitting vessels; charts show position. None see the way a human does, and human vision has limits.
The system integrates with most pre-existing displays, as well as mobile devices, making it broadly applicable across the maritime sector. Rather than presenting raw data for crews to interpret, the AI does the interpreting and surfaces only what matters. For AI in maritime, it is not a question of if, but how fast. The industry is conservative by nature, and rightly so. But the technology has reached maturity; the conversation has shifted from “is this possible?” to “how do we integrate this responsibly?” We expect AI to become a standard component of bridge architecture within this decade.”
Image credit – NavigatX
For Superyachts, Where is the Added Benefit for Captains and Crew and why Should They consider adding this in a bridge refit?
“Superyacht operations demand exceptional situational awareness. Navigating congested coastal waters, cruising at night, manoeuvring in unfamiliar ports – all with guests on board. Fatigue is a factor no amount of experience can eliminate.
SEA.AI never gets tired. For night passages, the thermal detection capability is a game changer: objects invisible to the naked eye and absent from radar are detected and flagged before they become a threat.
The technology also integrates into refit projects without requiring a full systems overhaul. The interface is intuitive, the installation is manageable, and the safety value is immediate. For owners and captains who take their duty of care seriously, it is a straightforward decision.”
What does the future hold for SEA.AI?
“SEA.AI’s mission to help save lives at sea continues to drive our roadmap. In 2024 Fred. Olsen Express became the first high-speed commercial ferry operator to install SEA.AI fleet-wide, and in 2026 Privilège Marine integrated it as standard across their entire range.
Through the EU’s Atlantic Whale Deal, we are also deploying AI-powered systems for detecting whales and reducing ship strikes – demonstrating that a system trained to protect mariners can equally protect the marine environment. A key focus ahead is sensor data fusion: combining optical cameras, thermal imaging, radar, AIS, and other systems into a single unified operational picture. Rather than multiple separate data streams for crews to interpret, the AI correlates all information simultaneously, delivering smarter and faster detections.”
A pod of marine mammals picked up and categorised by the SEA.AI camera.
Image credit – SEA.AI.
Our partnership
As a NavigatX partner, SEA.AI is a technology we supply and install with confidence – and the value added by the technology speaks for itself.
NavigatX project manager, Robbie, saw the value first hand whilst at sea:
“I’ve seen SEA.AI perform in conditions that really put the technology to the test. There was heavy rain and it was pitch black – the kind of night where visibility from the bridge is almost nothing. The system picked up on a submerged yacht mast that would never have appeared on radar and was completely invisible to the naked eye. Seeing it work in genuinely challenging conditions like that makes the case better than any specification sheet ever could. For any vessel planning a refit, this technology is a must have.”
If you are planning a bridge refit and want to learn more about SEA.AI and its capabilities, please get in touch.
info@navigatx.com
