Marcura acquires Shipster to accelerate maritime AI innovation

(Posted on 06/03/25)

Marcura, the global leader in digital maritime solutions, has acquired Shipster, a start-up specialising in AI-driven document intelligence. The acquisition further strengthens Marcura’s AI-powered automation roadmap, enabling it to accelerate in line with evolving customer needs and scale to support the growing complexity of maritime workflows.

Marcura has already embedded AI-powered automation across its solutions, with AI agents helping customers automate Charter Party interpretation, gain predictive insights for operational decisions, and identify contractual risks. Shipster’s expertise in agile AI experimentation will help Marcura further refine data extraction, automate resource-intensive tasks, and deliver even greater efficiency for customers.

"This acquisition is about moving faster, scaling what works, and making automation more effective where it matters most,” said Henrik Hyldahn, Group CEO, Marcura. “For our customers, that means reducing manual work, improving accuracy, and giving highly skilled professionals more time to focus on the decisions that drive real operational value."

Shipster specialises in AI-driven document automation, particularly in extracting and structuring key data from shipping documents like SOFs, LOIs, BLs and generating handover instructions. Marcura’s structured AI framework and vast data environment will help scale and refine these capabilities, applying them to a broader set of challenges, reducing inefficiencies in maritime document processing while supporting operational decision-making.

“Over the past months, we have explored various ways to fund Shipster’s long-term vision of AI adoption in shipping,” said Rasmus Nagel, CEO, Shipster. “After considering many avenues, we are excited to have found the right owners in Marcura. AI is evolving rapidly, and with Marcura’s deep expertise in both shipping and software development, Shipster has the right long-term-focused owners to navigate this journey, ensuring even greater value for our customers and bringing AI to life in shipping.”

The acquisition is part of Marcura’s broader strategy to develop and deploy AI agents that that eliminate process-heavy tasks, allowing maritime professionals to focus on high-value decision-making.

With a context-based AI framework built for maritime and access to the industry’s specific dataset, Marcura AI is focused on delivering automation that enhances decision-making, drives operational efficiencies, and removes friction from complex workflows. The goal is to create AI-powered solutions that integrate seamlessly into maritime professionals’ daily work, helping them operate with greater speed, accuracy, and confidence.