The Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) has issued a Type Approval Certificate for WAYSHIP, an Electronic Record Book (ERB) developed by Indian technology firm Volteo Maritime — a milestone in the domestic development of shipboard digital record-keeping.

The certificate was handed over to Surendra Lingareddy, Founder and CEO of Volteo Maritime, at the IRS head office in Mumbai. The approval covers a product designed to replace paper-based statutory record keeping across a vessel's full documentation suite.

The Wayship ERB handles the core compliance records that flag and port state inspectors examine on every call: engine and deck logbooks, the Oil Record Book, the Ballast Water Record Book, the Garbage Record Book and MARPOL Annex VI records, including VOC logging, fuel changeover documentation, NOx Tier II/III switching records and entries covering exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS).

For ship operators, the commercial logic is straightforward. Electronic record books improve the accessibility, consistency and management of operational records while cutting dependence on physical documentation, which has long been a source of deficiencies at inspections. Digital capture also streamlines inspection and verification processes and enables data analysis that paper systems cannot support.

Tapesh Ghosh, Head of Type and Works Approval at IRS, framed the approval as part of a wider digital shift. "The approval of Volteo Maritime's Electronic Record Book is a significant step in supporting the adoption of digital technologies across the maritime sector," he said. "It also demonstrates the potential of Indian technology developers to create solutions that meet the requirements of the global maritime industry. IRS remains committed to supporting innovation while ensuring that new technologies meet appropriate standards of safety, reliability and compliance."

The classification society's dual role matters here. Type approval from IRS means the product has been assessed against standards of safety, reliability and compliance — the threshold any digital record book must clear before flag administrations and operators will accept it in lieu of paper statutory records.

Lingareddy positioned the product as more than a compliance tool, arguing that digital logbooks are the entry point for broader operational technology adoption. "Record books and noon reports are ground zero for any shipping enterprise," he said. "Without that first step of moving them from paper to digital, every ambition beyond it, AI included, stays out of reach. 75% of the market still sees logbooks only through a compliance lens, but when that data is captured digitally, it becomes the foundation for APIs and AI that move the whole industry forward."

He added: "With IRS approval, Wayship is now India's own digital foundation for vessel operations, built at home and ready for the world."

The approval carries weight beyond a single product certificate. It reinforces the development of an Indian maritime technology ecosystem — a domestic supply chain for shipboard software — at a time when fleet digitalisation has moved from pilot projects to procurement decisions. Indian shipowners seeking to digitise statutory records can now source a class-approved product domestically rather than relying solely on foreign vendors.

The move also tracks a broader industry trajectory. As classification societies and flag states expand acceptance of electronic record books under IMO guidance, vendors holding type approval from recognised class societies are positioned to capture demand from operators preparing for digital inspection regimes and, eventually, AI-driven analytics built on structured voyage data.