Information and communications technology (ICT) is revolutionising shipping, bringing with it a new era – the ‘cyber-enabled’ ship. Today’s leading manufacturers and ship operators want to innovate using the latest ICT systems, going beyond traditional engineering to create ships with enhanced monitoring, communication and connection capabilities – ships that can be accessed by remote onshore services, anytime and anywhere. ICT systems have the potential to enhance safety, reliability and business performance, but there are numerous risks that need to be identified, understood and mitigated to make sure that technologies are safely integrated into ship design and operations. The marine industry faces complex and serious challenges in order to achieve the full benefits of using ICT. Because a cyber-enabled ship consists of multiple, interconnected systems, and because of the rapid pace of technology development, assuring that a cyber-enabled ship will be safe cannot be prescriptive, and cannot rely on knowledge gained from previous systems. Instead, it requires a ‘total systems’ approach – one that takes account of all the different systems on board and on shore, how they are designed and installed, how they connect and how they will be managed. This is the approach that Lloyd’s Register (LR) takes, applying a non-prescriptive, risk-based process from the earliest concept stage, through on board integration, to operation – one that is based on our extensive experience of system design and installation on board ships and other marine platforms. As a trusted provider of safety assurance to the marine industry, LR is ready to help all stakeholders in the cyber-enabled ship market ensure that ICT is deployed safely.