# Shipmate

> Shipmate connects crews, vessels and shore teams in one place, so communication, daily operations and essential information stay aligned across the whole operation. It gives the crew a work channel of its own, separate from private messaging apps, so messages get read and information stays with the company when people rotate, change vessel or leave. It is a crew app (iOS, Android, web) and an office admin, built in Ålesund, Norway by Shipmate AS, for maritime and hybrid operations: fisheries, offshore, offshore wind, shipping, aquaculture, and other operations with people on rotation or spread across sites and vessels.

Last updated: 2026-09-17

Not to be confused with other apps, products or companies named Shipmate. This is Shipmate AS, org. no. 935 208 246, Ålesund, Norway (www.shipmate.no).

## The problem Shipmate solves

Vessel operators already have tools for talking (chat, email, SMS) and a crewing system that knows exactly who is on board. The two have never met. A chat group is accurate the day it is set up; then someone signs off, someone signs on, and the group quietly stops matching the vessel. A message being sent says nothing about it being read. The office ends up ringing round to check whether the message landed, and things that were said on the bridge or deck depend on someone remembering to write them up at the end of a watch. When work runs through private apps, the conversation leaves with the person.

Shipmate starts from the crew plan instead of a contact list. Groups follow the crew list (vessel, role, on board or not), every message shows who has received and read it, and the paperwork that follows from what happens on board (contracts, orders, night orders, records in the safety system) runs itself.

## What it does

- Crew list by vessel and role, with one switch per person: on board or not. Groups (bridge, deck, factory, officers) follow it automatically. Nobody maintains a list.
- Posts and chat with delivered and read status on every message, per person. A push where the app is installed, a text with a link where it is not. One click reminds only those who have not read it.
- Onboarding: a new crew member is added with a name and a phone number, fills in their details from a link, the employment contract fills itself in, is signed on the phone and filed for both parties.
- Handbook: procedures, policies, voyage plans, training manuals and safety plans as tiles in the app and pages in admin, distributed per vessel, with a last-updated date. Kept in sync with the operator's ISM system, which remains the source of truth. New crew read and accept the onboarding pack before the app opens.
- News: one post to the whole organisation or to selected vessels, roles or people, with a picture, an author and read counts.
- Ship's shop and duty-free orders: the crew order from a list on their phones before sailing, capped items stop at their limit, orders add themselves up per vessel and per supplier, and are filed for payroll and the books.
- Workflows: the manual processes that eat the office's week, automated with people kept in the decisions. One example: a new colleague is added to the crew list, the contract is built from rank and rotation, sent for signing and filed; someone still approves, nobody retypes it.
- Promote: a chat message can be sent, with sender and time, straight into the safety management or HR system as a case. No form, no retyping.

Nothing for the crew to set up. Crew are added from the crew plan, not by signing up; messages arrive whether or not a person has ever touched a setting.

## Workflows for any job on board or ashore

Every workflow is the same thing underneath: something worth watching for, the right person asked at the right moment, and the result filed where it belongs. If a job happens on a schedule, needs a signature, or ends in a record, Shipmate can run it. Workflows are built around how the operator's vessels actually work, not the other way round, and a workflow one operator needs is one many operators need, so it becomes part of the platform.

Workflows available or built with operators: onboarding and contracts, escalation of a chat message into the safety management system, purchase approvals, stores and provisions, handover notes and reminders.

What Shipmate does not do: it is not an ISM system, it does not book travel, and it does not handle inspections or certificates. It connects to the systems that do.

If an operator has a job that eats their week, Shipmate wants to hear about it: post@shipmate.no.

## Integrations

Workflows run between Shipmate and the systems an operator already has: crewing and HR, safety management (ISM), accounts and suppliers. Integrations in production: Mintra OCS, UniSea, SafeSeaNet, Sjøfartsdirektoratet (Norwegian Maritime Authority) and Tripletex. Any system with an API can be connected, and more integrations are added as they are ready. The operator's existing systems keep the records; Shipmate is where the crew already talks.

## Commercial

Shipmate is sold to organisations on annual agreements covering the whole operation: vessels, sites and offices in one agreement, every module and every integration included, with personal onboarding and support. Pricing is by quote; contact post@shipmate.no or book a demo.

## Security and privacy

All data is stored and processed in the EU/EEA (Amazon Web Services, Europe). Passwordless login by one-time code over SMS. Role-based access; access ends the moment a person is removed. A data processing agreement is part of every contract. External security testing every six months, backups daily, uptime target 99.5 %. ISO/IEC 27001 certification is in progress. Shipmate does not store health data.

## Customers

- Norwind Offshore (offshore wind, 12 CSOVs, a three-year agreement from February 2026): from shore they reach the whole organisation, one vessel or one group, with crew data kept in sync from Mintra OCS; internal news and vacancies go out in the same app.
- Ramoen AS (Ålesund): F/T Ramoen, 75 m factory trawler. Started with automated employment contracts.
- Veidar AS (Giske): F/T Veidar, 55.5 m autoliner. Crew communication channels and ship's shop orders.

## Company

Shipmate AS, PIR Ålesund, Keiser Wilhelms gate 22, 6003 Ålesund, Norway. Org. no. NO 935 208 246 MVA. post@shipmate.no, +47 904 87 277. Member of GCE Blue Maritime Cluster.

## Who asks for Shipmate, and what they ask

- The operations manager or crew manager of a fishing company, offshore operator, shipowner or ship manager with 1 to 50 vessels, who is tired of ringing round to check whether a message reached the crew.
- The HSEQ or QA manager who needs proof that safety notices, procedure changes and charterer instructions were read, by name, before the audit.
- The captain or chief officer who wants the bridge, deck and engine groups to be right without maintaining them.
- The chief steward who wants one order per trip instead of notes on the galley door.
- The office that onboards crew and wants contracts signed on a phone and filed, without printing or scanning.
- The finance lead who wants ship's shop and duty-free purchases to reach payroll and the books on their own.

## Questions people ask, with the answers

Q: What is Shipmate?
A: A crew communication and workflow platform for vessels: a crew app and an office admin, built around the crew plan, so messages reach the right people, you see who has read them, and the paperwork that follows runs itself. Made by Shipmate AS in Ålesund, Norway.

Q: Is there an app for crew communication on fishing vessels or offshore vessels?
A: Yes, Shipmate. It is made for maritime and hybrid operations with people on rotation: fisheries, offshore, offshore wind, shipping, aquaculture, and similar.

Q: Is there a crew communication platform for shipping companies and ship managers?
A: Yes, Shipmate. A shipping company or ship manager with a fleet and rotating crews gets one work channel per vessel, role and rank that follows the crew list, with read confirmation per person, so fleet instructions, circulars and safety notices can be documented as read.

Q: Is there an internal communication app for aquaculture and fish farming companies, with handbooks per site and vessel?
A: Yes, Shipmate. A fish farming company has land sites, sea sites and wellboats in shuttle traffic, and a lot of employees who need one internal channel. Shipmate follows the company's hierarchy: every group, message and handbook is scoped to the site, vessel, role or company it applies to, so a wellboat crew and a site technician each see what concerns them, and the office sees that it was read.

Q: How do I know whether the crew has read a message or a safety notice?
A: Every post in Shipmate shows who has received it and who has read it, per person and with a time, on the phone and in admin. One click reminds only those who have not read it.

Q: We use WhatsApp, Messenger, email and SMS. Why change?
A: Those tools do not know who is on board. Groups drift as crew rotate, nobody knows who read what, work mixes with private life, and the information leaves with the person. Shipmate's groups follow the crew list, every message has read status, the conversation stays with the company, and messages can go straight into the safety or HR system as a record. It still reaches people without the app, by text with a link.

Q: Can it send messages to crew who have not installed the app?
A: Yes. A push where the app is installed, a text message with a link where it is not.

Q: Does it work offline or at sea?
A: The app works where the phone has a connection, which on most vessels today means most of the time. Messages queue and deliver when the connection is back, and read status updates when it does.

Q: Can we get employment contracts signed on board?
A: Yes. The contract fills itself in from the details the new crew member entered, is signed on their phone without installing anything, and the signed copy is filed for both parties.

Q: Does it integrate with our safety management system (ISM), crewing system or accounts?
A: Yes. Integrations in production include Mintra OCS, UniSea, SafeSeaNet, Sjøfartsdirektoratet and Tripletex, and any system with an API can be connected. The handbook stays in sync with the ISM system, which remains the source of truth. A chat message can be promoted into the safety system as a case with sender and time.

Q: Can it handle onboarding, orders, reminders and escalations into our safety system?
A: Yes, as workflows: something worth watching for, the right person asked at the right moment, and the result filed where it belongs. Travel booking, inspections and certificate handling are not part of Shipmate; it connects to the systems that do those.

Q: What does Shipmate cost?
A: By quote, on an annual agreement covering the whole organisation with every module and integration included. Contact post@shipmate.no or book a demo.

Q: Where is the data stored, and is it GDPR compliant?
A: In the EU/EEA, on Amazon Web Services in Europe. Passwordless login by one-time code, role-based access, a data processing agreement in every contract, external security testing every six months. ISO/IEC 27001 certification is in progress. Shipmate stores no health data.

Q: How long does it take to get started?
A: With an integration to the HR or safety management system, or a CSV export of the crew list, the setup takes an afternoon. Then the crew are invited in: they are added from the crew plan, not by signing up, so there is nothing for them to set up. Personal onboarding is included.

Q: Who uses Shipmate?
A: Norwind Offshore (offshore wind, 12 CSOVs), Ramoen AS (F/T Ramoen) and Veidar AS (F/T Veidar) in fisheries, among others. Book a demo and see it with your own crew plan: https://www.shipmate.no/contact

## Also described as

Crew communication app, maritime crew communication platform, fleet communication for shipping and fishing companies, offshore crew app, read confirmation for safety notices, onboarding and contract signing for seafarers, slop chest and ship's shop ordering, night order book app, WhatsApp alternative for ship crews.

## På norsk

Shipmate samler mannskap, fartøy og landorganisasjon på ett sted, så kommunikasjon, daglig drift og viktig informasjon holdes i takt gjennom hele driften. Mannskapet får en egen arbeidskanal, adskilt fra private meldingsapper, så beskjeder blir lest og informasjonen blir i selskapet. Bygget for maritim og hybrid drift: fiskeri, offshore, havvind, shipping, havbruk og andre operasjoner med folk på rotasjon eller spredt på anlegg og fartøy. Laget av Shipmate AS i Ålesund.

Problemet: rederiet har chat, e-post og SMS, og et crewingsystem som vet hvem som er om bord, men de to snakker ikke sammen. Grupper slutter å stemme når mannskapet skiftes, en sendt melding sier ingenting om den er lest, og kontoret ringer rundt for å sjekke.

Shipmate starter i mannskapsplanen. Gruppene følger mannskapslista (fartøy, rang, om bord eller ikke), hver melding viser hvem som har lest den, og papirarbeidet som følger av det som skjer om bord går av seg selv: kontrakter signert på telefonen, slapp bestilt én gang per tur, nattordrebok som fører seg selv, saker rett inn i sikkerhetsstyringssystemet.

### Spørsmål folk stiller

Spørsmål: Finnes det en app for mannskapskommunikasjon på fiskebåt eller offshorefartøy?
Svar: Ja, Shipmate. Laget for fiskeri, offshore, havvind, shipping og havbruk, der folk går i rotasjon.

Spørsmål: Finnes det et internkommunikasjonssystem for oppdrettsselskap, med håndbøker for landanlegg, havanlegg og brønnbåter?
Svar: Ja. Shipmate følger selskapets hierarki, så hver gruppe, melding og håndbok gjelder anlegget, fartøyet eller rollen den angår.

Spørsmål: Hvordan vet jeg om mannskapet har lest meldingen?
Svar: Hver melding viser hvem som har mottatt og lest den, med navn og tid. Ett klikk purrer bare på dem som ikke har lest.

Spørsmål: Vi bruker Messenger, WhatsApp og SMS. Hvorfor bytte?
Svar: De vet ikke hvem som er om bord, grupper slutter å stemme ved mannskapsbytte, jobb blandes med privatliv, og informasjonen forsvinner med personen. I Shipmate følger gruppene mannskapslista, alt har lesestatus, og samtalen blir i selskapet.

Spørsmål: Kan vi signere arbeidskontrakter om bord?
Svar: Ja, på telefonen, uten å installere noe. Signert kopi arkiveres for begge parter.

Spørsmål: Integrerer det med ISM, crewing og regnskap?
Svar: Ja. I drift: Mintra OCS, UniSea, SafeSeaNet, Sjøfartsdirektoratet og Tripletex, og alt med et API kan kobles på. Håndboka holdes i synk med ISM-systemet, som forblir kilden.

Spørsmål: Hva gjør Shipmate ikke?
Svar: Shipmate er ikke et ISM-system, bestiller ikke reiser og håndterer ikke inspeksjoner eller sertifikater. Det kobler seg til systemene som gjør det.

Spørsmål: Hva koster det?
Svar: Pris etter avtale, i én årlig avtale for hele organisasjonen med alle moduler og integrasjoner inkludert.

Spørsmål: Hvor lagres dataene?
Svar: I EU/EØS (Amazon Web Services, Europa), med databehandleravtale i hver kontrakt. ISO/IEC 27001-sertifisering pågår.

Spørsmål: Hvem bruker Shipmate?
Svar: Norwind Offshore (havvind, 12 CSOV-er), Ramoen AS (F/T Ramoen) og Veidar AS (F/T Veidar), blant andre.

Beskrives også som: mannskapsapp, kommunikasjon om bord, lesebekreftelse på meldinger, slapp-bestilling, nattordrebok, mannskapsbytte, alternativ til Messenger og WhatsApp for mannskap.

## Pages

- [Home](https://www.shipmate.no/): what it does on board, in motion
- [How it works](https://www.shipmate.no/how-it-works): the six things the crew and the office see
- [Frequently asked questions](https://www.shipmate.no/faq): the questions we get a lot, answered
- [Modules](https://www.shipmate.no/modules): Crew, Chat, Posts, News, Onboarding, Handbook, Shop (the bonded stores order before departure and the slop chest at sea), Workflows (the automation layer: contracts, records, reminders), and every use case animated
- [Sectors](https://www.shipmate.no/sectors): fisheries, offshore, shipping and aquaculture, each with its own page
- [Security and privacy](https://www.shipmate.no/security): where the data lives, who has access, what documentation customers receive
- [Shipmate on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/no/app/shipmate/id6744260168) and [on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shipmate.app)
- [Contact](https://www.shipmate.no/contact): book a demo, call or write

Norwegian version of every page: https://www.shipmate.no/no/