Maritime ERP: What SupaMaritime Covers and What It Doesn’t
Looking for a maritime ERP? SupaMaritime is not one. It is four separate apps for port agents, ferry operators, merchant fleets and associations. Here is what each covers.
Who this is for
- You run a maritime business: port agency, ferry operator, shipowner or ship manager, or a maritime association
- You are searching for a maritime ERP and want to know which parts of your work a given product actually covers
- Your finance team already works in an accounting or ERP system and you are looking for an operational tool next to it
- You would rather hear up front what a product does not do than find out after signing
“Maritime ERP” is used for very different products: large corporate ERP deployments with shipping extensions, ship management suites, chartering and voyage platforms, and small cloud tools for one job such as disbursement accounts. Before comparing vendors it helps to write down which work you want in the system: finance and accounting, procurement, chartering and voyages, technical management, crew, compliance, port calls.
SupaMaritime is not a single maritime ERP and does not replace an accounting or corporate ERP system. It is a set of separate modules, each built for one type of operator and each running as its own web app with its own database: Agent for port agencies, Ferry for ferry operators, Merchant for cargo fleets, and Guild for maritime associations. There is no shared login or combined data model across the modules.
This page explains what each module covers, what none of them covers (general ledger, payroll, chartering, voyage planning, bunkering, emissions reporting, procurement beyond onboard inventory orders), and how data leaves SupaMaritime so you can use it in the systems you already have.
Where the day breaks down
“Maritime ERP” means different things to different vendors
The same label covers corporate ERPs, ship management suites, chartering platforms and single-purpose tools. Comparing them side by side is hard unless you list the work you need covered.
Corporate ERPs do not know what a port call is
General-purpose ERPs are built around orders, invoices and the general ledger. Port calls, disbursement accounts, hours of rest or MARPOL entries usually end up in spreadsheets next to them.
Operations and finance keep separate records
Operational work and accounting often sit in different systems, so figures are re-keyed or exported by hand at month end.
One product rarely fits every business unit
A group with an agency, a ferry service and cargo vessels has very different daily work in each unit. A tool shaped for one of them is usually a poor fit for the others.
Compliance records are scattered
Certificates, ISM and ISPS items, drills, hours of rest and logbook entries end up across email, shared folders and paper, which makes audits slow to prepare.
Integration promises are hard to check
Connectors and APIs are easy to list on a website. Ask which ones exist today, what data they move and who maintains them.
Built around the workflow, not bolted on top
SupaMaritime covers operational work, one module per type of operator. Each module is its own app with its own database and login. Finance, accounting, chartering and voyage management stay in the systems you already use; data leaves SupaMaritime as CSV, JSON or XLSX exports, and Agent adds Italian e-invoicing (FatturaPA) and a CSV accounting export.
Agent: port calls and disbursement accounts
Port call lifecycle with table, Kanban and calendar views, services and tasks, PDA and FDA with line items and PDF export, invoices and payments, multi-currency with daily ECB rates, crew changes, vendor quote requests, documents and PODs.
Ferry: maintenance, crew and SOLAS records
Planned maintenance and work orders by calendar or running hours, onboard inventory, crew certificates with expiry alerts, hours of rest checked against MLC and STCW limits, and a compliance hub with ISM, ISPS and SOLAS records.
Merchant: maintenance, crew and MARPOL records
The same maintenance, inventory and crew tools as Ferry, with MARPOL record entries (Annex I, IV, V, VI) and ballast water records in the compliance hub, plus a multi-vessel view for the office.
Guild: maritime associations
Members CRM, dues and online payments through the association’s own Stripe account, renewals, qualifications register, events with QR check-in, meetings and secret ballots, and email campaigns.
Security and hosting
TLS in transit, provider encryption at rest, role-based access scoped by organisation and vessel, and MFA. Databases in London (Agent, Ferry, Merchant) or Frankfurt (Guild), under a GDPR Data Processing Agreement.
Your data leaves when you want it to
Export as CSV, JSON or XLSX and files in their original format at any time, with no export fee. Agent also produces FatturaPA XML and a CSV journal export of FDA disbursements for your accounting system.
Illustrative example: a small group with a port agency and two cargo vessels
A hypothetical group runs a port agency in one port and manages two general cargo vessels. Its accountant keeps the books in an accounting package; chartering is handled by a broker. This example is illustrative and does not describe a real customer.
Before SupaMaritime
After SupaMaritime
Port calls, services and disbursement accounts are tracked in spreadsheets and email threads.
The agency uses Agent: port calls on a Kanban board and calendar, services and tasks per call, PDA and FDA with PDF export and daily ECB exchange rates.
PDAs and FDAs are built by hand in a word processor, with exchange rates looked up separately.
Agent’s CSV accounting export hands FDA disbursements to the accountant as journal entries (and FatturaPA XML where Italian e-invoicing applies).
Maintenance on the two vessels is planned in a spreadsheet kept by the chief engineer.
The vessels use Merchant: planned maintenance by running hours, onboard inventory, crew certificates with expiry alerts and hours of rest checked against MLC and STCW limits.
Crew certificates and hours of rest are on paper, checked when an audit is announced.
MARPOL and ballast water records are kept in Merchant’s compliance hub.
Invoice data is typed again into the accounting package.
Agent and Merchant are two separate apps with separate logins; the general ledger and chartering stay where they were.
Facts you can check
Agent, Ferry, Merchant and Guild, each its own app and database.
Available at any time, with no switching or export fee.
Italian e-invoice XML and a CSV journal export of FDA disbursements.
On Ferry, Merchant and Guild. Agent is quoted on request.
What “maritime ERP” usually means
In practice the term is applied to at least four kinds of product: corporate ERPs (finance, procurement, HR) with shipping extensions; ship management suites covering technical management, crew and compliance; commercial platforms for chartering, voyage estimation and laytime; and smaller tools that handle one job, such as disbursement accounts or planned maintenance.
None of these is wrong; they answer different questions. The useful first step is to list the work you want in the system and ask each vendor, for each item, whether it is shipped today, planned, or handled by another product.
SupaMaritime belongs to the last two groups rather than the first: operational modules for specific operator types, not a corporate ERP and not a chartering platform.
Why operational tools and accounting systems usually coexist
General-purpose ERPs are designed around orders, invoices, vendors, customers and the general ledger. Maritime work has its own units: a port call, a disbursement account, a vessel’s maintenance plan, a seafarer’s hours of rest. These can be modelled in a corporate ERP, but many maritime companies keep them in a dedicated operational tool instead.
The result is usually two layers: accounting in the finance system, operations in a maritime tool, and a hand-off between them. How that hand-off works, whether through an export, a file format or a connector, is worth checking early with any vendor.
With SupaMaritime the hand-off is an export: CSV, JSON or XLSX from every module, and in Agent also FatturaPA XML and a CSV journal export of FDA disbursements. There are no standard connectors to SAP, NetSuite, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics or other ERPs, and Agent, Ferry and Merchant have no public API.
What each SupaMaritime module covers
Agent (for port agencies): port call lifecycle with table, Kanban and calendar views; services and tasks per call with templates; PDA and FDA with line items per category and PDF export; invoices and payments; multi-currency with daily ECB rates to EUR; crew changes; vendor quote requests by email; documents, PODs with photos and signatures, and warehouse inventory of parcels; a Telegram bot for recording services. Pro and Enterprise add AIS vessel positions, port radar, a vessel tracker and a route planner.
Ferry and Merchant (the same app under two names): planned maintenance and work orders tied to equipment, onboard inventory and inventory orders, crew records with certificates and expiry alerts, duty roster, hours of rest checked against MLC and STCW limits, and a compliance hub for ISM and ISPS items, audits, drills and certificates. Ferry adds SOLAS records; Merchant adds MARPOL record entries (Annex I, IV, V, VI) and ballast water records.
Guild (for maritime associations): members CRM, dues through the association’s own Stripe account, renewals and reminders, qualifications register, application forms with review stages, events with QR check-in, meetings, quorum and secret ballots, and email campaigns. Guild Pro and Enterprise include a public API; the other modules do not.
What SupaMaritime does not cover, and questions to ask any vendor
Not covered by any module: general ledger and accounting, payroll, procurement beyond onboard inventory orders, chartering and charter parties, voyage estimation and planning, laytime and demurrage, bunker management, emissions reporting (CII, EEXI, EU ETS, FuelEU, MRV), vessel performance monitoring, passenger ticketing and reservations, cargo manifests and stowage. Ferry and Merchant do not include AIS tracking. Keep the tools you use for these.
Questions worth asking any maritime software vendor: Which of the items on my list are shipped today? Is each business unit on the same system or on separate apps? Which integrations exist today, and what data do they move? Can I export all my data at any time, in which formats, and at what cost? Where is the data hosted, and is there a Data Processing Agreement? What support hours and response targets apply?
SupaMaritime’s answers: separate modules per operator type; export as CSV, JSON or XLSX at any time with no fee; Agent’s FatturaPA and CSV accounting export as the only finance hand-offs; databases in London (Agent, Ferry, Merchant) or Frankfurt (Guild) with application servers in Paris; a GDPR Data Processing Agreement in the terms; support by email and in-app on Spanish business days, aiming to respond within one business day. We do not quote a standard implementation time; onboarding, data migration or training are provided only when the order form includes them.
How this compares to the alternatives
General-purpose corporate ERP covering finance, procurement, logistics and HR, used by large organisations across industries.
Commercial platform for chartering, voyage estimation and voyage operations, used by ship operators and charterers.
Ship management software suite covering technical, crew and commercial areas for shipowners and managers.
Ship management platforms focused on technical management, maintenance and compliance.
General-purpose ERP and accounting suites that maritime companies often use for finance next to an operational tool.
Frequently asked questions
What is a maritime ERP?
Is SupaMaritime a maritime ERP?
Does SupaMaritime handle finance, procurement or chartering?
Can SupaMaritime connect to SAP, NetSuite or Oracle?
Can a group use several modules?
Does SupaMaritime track emissions (CII, EU ETS, FuelEU)?
How long does it take to get started?
How much does SupaMaritime cost?
See it in your workflow, not a generic demo
We'll walk through maritime erp buyers.
Ferry, Merchant and Guild have a free plan. Ferry and Merchant Pro: €199 per vessel per month + VAT. Guild Pro: €199 per month + VAT. Agent is quoted on request (no free plan).