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Ship maintenance software is a digital platform that helps shipping companies plan, execute, monitor and document maintenance activities throughout the lifecycle of a vessel and its equipment. It provides a central environment where onboard crews and shore-based technical teams can manage preventive and corrective maintenance, work orders, equipment condition, spare parts, equipment history and maintenance documentation.
Rather than relying on paper records, spreadsheets or disconnected maintenance tools, ship maintenance software centralises maintenance information and creates a structured workflow for managing technical assets. This enables organisations to improve maintenance consistency, reduce equipment failures and maintain complete records of maintenance performed throughout the vessel's operational life.
Unlike a Planned Maintenance System, which focuses primarily on maintenance scheduling and intervals, ship maintenance software supports the broader maintenance process — from planning and execution to corrective work, condition reporting, equipment history and continuous improvement.
Many organisations also use ship maintenance software as part of a broader Maritime EAM Software environment, connecting maintenance activities with asset lifecycle management and long-term equipment performance.
Reliable vessel operations depend on reliable equipment.
Modern commercial vessels contain thousands of assets that require regular inspection, servicing and repair. Managing these activities manually becomes increasingly difficult as equipment complexity grows and regulatory expectations increase.
Ship maintenance software provides a structured maintenance environment where technical teams can organise work, monitor equipment condition and maintain accurate maintenance records throughout the vessel lifecycle.
By replacing fragmented maintenance processes with one connected platform, organisations can improve maintenance quality while reducing unplanned downtime, administrative workload and operational risk.
Shore-based technical teams also gain better visibility into maintenance status, equipment condition, defects and recurring failures across vessels, improving collaboration and enabling more informed technical decisions.
The result is greater equipment reliability, more efficient maintenance execution and stronger coordination between onboard crews and shore-based technical departments.
Ship maintenance software connects maintenance activities performed onboard with technical management carried out ashore.
Maintenance activities are linked to vessel equipment and can be planned according to maintenance requirements, operational conditions and equipment history.
Engineers can complete work orders, report equipment defects, record condition and performance, document spare parts usage and maintain records of completed work directly within the system.
When failures or breakdowns occur, corrective work can be recorded against the relevant equipment, creating a traceable history that helps technical teams identify recurring issues and evaluate equipment reliability.
Shore-based teams use the same maintenance information to monitor progress, coordinate technical support, analyse equipment performance and plan future maintenance activities.
This creates one consistent maintenance history for each asset while improving communication and reducing duplicated work between vessel and shore.
Although functionality varies between providers, modern ship maintenance software typically combines several connected functions that support the complete vessel maintenance process.
Preventive maintenance helps organisations reduce unexpected equipment failures by ensuring maintenance activities are completed before problems occur.
Maintenance tasks can be planned according to calendar intervals, running hours, equipment condition, manufacturer recommendations and operational requirements.
A Planned Maintenance System provides the structured scheduling framework for recurring maintenance activities, while broader ship maintenance software connects this planning with execution, corrective work and equipment history.
Not all maintenance can be planned in advance.
When equipment defects, failures or breakdowns occur, ship maintenance software enables crews to report faults, create corrective work orders and document repairs within a structured workflow.
Recording defects and corrective actions against individual equipment creates a more complete technical history and helps technical managers identify recurring reliability issues.
This information can also support future troubleshooting and continuous improvement.
Maintenance decisions depend not only on schedules but also on understanding the actual condition of vessel equipment.
Condition reporting allows technical teams to document equipment condition during inspections and maintenance activities, while performance information can help identify developing problems and areas requiring attention.
Combining condition information with maintenance, defect and failure history provides a stronger foundation for prioritising work and making informed technical decisions.
STAR specifically supports monitoring condition and performance, condition reporting and failure/breakdown tracking, making this an important distinction from a glossary page focused only on planned maintenance.
Work orders organise maintenance activities by defining required tasks, assigning responsibilities and recording completed work.
Work and service requests can capture maintenance requirements as they arise, while complex maintenance jobs may involve multiple related tasks or sub-tasks.
Every completed work order contributes to the maintenance history of the associated equipment, improving traceability and supporting long-term maintenance planning.
Structured work order management also improves communication between onboard engineers and shore-based technical departments.
Maintenance activities depend on having the correct spare parts and consumables available when work is due.
Ship maintenance software can connect maintenance requirements with spare parts information, helping technical teams identify material requirements, monitor availability and coordinate procurement before maintenance begins.
This connection is also visible among leading maritime maintenance platforms: AMOS, for example, explicitly connects planned maintenance with inventory and procurement to improve spare-parts availability and execution.
Every maintenance activity performed onboard contributes to the equipment's technical history.
Historical records allow engineers and technical managers to review previous maintenance, defects, failures and repairs, helping them identify recurring problems and evaluate equipment reliability over time.
A complete equipment history also preserves technical knowledge throughout the asset lifecycle and supports better-informed maintenance decisions.
Maintenance reporting gives technical teams visibility into maintenance status, overdue work, equipment reliability and recurring issues.
Dashboards and reports can help organisations prioritise activities, allocate resources and identify maintenance trends across vessels.
Analysing maintenance history and performance over time also supports continuous improvement by helping organisations understand where maintenance processes or equipment reliability can be improved. Maintenance analytics and performance trends are also prominent in AMOS's current maintenance offering.
Effective ship maintenance depends on coordination between personnel onboard and technical teams ashore.
A connected maintenance environment allows both teams to work from consistent equipment and maintenance information, reducing duplicated reporting and improving technical oversight.
For vessels operating with limited connectivity, mobile and offline capabilities can also support work in the field. STAR describes its mobile applications as supporting operations onboard and ashore, while its wider software offering is available online and offline.
Day-to-day maintenance information also provides an important foundation for larger maintenance periods and dry-docking.
Outstanding work, equipment condition, failure history and technical requirements can help teams identify jobs that should be considered when preparing docking scopes.
Connecting routine maintenance with dry-docking preparation helps organisations carry technical knowledge forward instead of treating docking as an isolated maintenance event. STAR explicitly includes efficient dry-docking preparation within its Maintenance solution.
Although the terms are closely related, ship maintenance software and a Planned Maintenance System (PMS) are not exactly the same.
A PMS focuses primarily on planning, scheduling and documenting maintenance based on calendar intervals, running hours, equipment condition or other defined requirements.
Ship maintenance software has a broader scope. In addition to planned maintenance, it can support corrective maintenance, defect and failure tracking, condition reporting, work and service requests, equipment history, spare parts coordination, reporting and other technical maintenance processes.
In practice, these capabilities often exist within the same maintenance environment. The PMS provides the structured framework for planned maintenance, while ship maintenance software supports the wider maintenance lifecycle from planning and execution to technical history and continuous improvement.
This distinction also keeps this page separate from STAR's dedicated Planned Maintenance System glossary, which goes deeper into maintenance schedules, triggers and preventive maintenance.
Ship maintenance software and Maritime EAM Software both support technical operations, but they address different levels of asset management.
Ship maintenance software focuses primarily on the activities required to maintain vessel equipment safely and reliably — including planned and corrective maintenance, defects, work orders, condition information and maintenance history.
Maritime EAM Software has a broader asset lifecycle perspective, connecting maintenance with asset performance and other processes across the organisation.
In practice, ship maintenance software can form part of a wider enterprise asset management strategy, where maintenance information contributes to long-term asset reliability, performance and lifecycle decisions.
Ship maintenance software helps organisations move beyond fragmented and reactive maintenance by providing a structured environment for managing vessel equipment.
Key benefits include:
By connecting maintenance planning, execution, condition information and technical history, ship maintenance software gives organisations greater control over vessel maintenance while supporting reliability, operational efficiency and continuous improvement.
Ship maintenance software is used by both onboard personnel and shore-based technical teams responsible for maintaining vessel reliability.
Typical users include:
Although responsibilities differ between onboard and shore-based personnel, all users benefit from access to consistent maintenance information and complete equipment histories.
STAR Suite™ provides a connected maintenance environment for managing technical maintenance across maritime assets.
STAR supports planned and corrective maintenance, condition and performance monitoring, condition reporting, failure and breakdown tracking, work and service requests, and complex jobs with sub-tasks. This enables technical teams to manage both scheduled work and unexpected maintenance requirements within the same maintenance environment.
Maintenance information can be connected with equipment and asset data, giving onboard personnel and shore-based technical teams greater visibility into maintenance status and asset performance. STAR's wider Asset Management solution also supports lifecycle management, maintenance scheduling and integration with supply chain and QHSE processes.
For maintenance planning, STAR Planner provides a graphical overview of the maintenance plan, including schedules, materials and personnel resources required for timely execution.
STAR Suite™ also connects day-to-day maintenance with preparation for dry-docking and broader fleet operations, helping organisations improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime and establish more consistent maintenance processes across vessels.