SEA.AI, a maritime computer vision company founded in Brittany in 2018, is one of five winners of the 2026 Ocean Innovation Awards, organised by Crédit Maritime Grand Ouest. The award recognises SEA.AI’s AI-based detection technology for safer navigation, maritime surveillance and marine life protection.
What are the Ocean Innovation Awards?
The Ocean Innovation Awards are a national competition launched in 2018 by Crédit Maritime Grand Ouest. They recognise companies developing innovative solutions for a more sustainable maritime economy.
The eighth edition took place at the Palais du Grand Large in Saint-Malo, days before the start of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe. It also marked Crédit Maritime’s 120th anniversary and drew more than 63 project submissions. Five winners were selected on innovation, economic potential and environmental impact.
Why did SEA.AI win?
The award recognises an innovation that addresses three major challenges in the maritime sector:
- Safety at sea: detecting hazards early to prevent collisions.
- Maritime surveillance: vessel detection and tracking, coastal monitoring.
- Marine life protection: detecting marine mammals at the surface.
From offshore racing to worldwide use
SEA.AI’s history is closely linked to offshore racing. From 2018, the company worked with offshore racing teams and renowned skippers to develop artificial intelligence that detects what the human eye, radar and AIS can sometimes miss. Its algorithms were trained on millions of data points collected at sea, sometimes in extreme conditions.
Today the technology serves offshore racing, recreational boating, commercial maritime operations, search and rescue, and maritime surveillance.
How does SEA.AI’s technology work?
SEA.AI combines optical cameras, thermal sensors and onboard artificial intelligence. The system detects and classifies objects on the water’s surface in real time, day and night.
It detects:
- People overboard
- Small craft
- Floating objects
- Marine mammals at the surface
It adds a layer of vigilance on board and complements radar and AIS.
Real-world impact
Feedback from users shows the human value of the technology:
- Rescue crews rely on SEA.AI to help locate people overboard.
- A catamaran owner avoided two teenagers swimming at night in a harbour.
- Detection of a vessel carrying around 15 migrants helped prevent a collision and enabled assistance to be provided.
A collective achievement
The award also recognises a team effort that began eight years ago, when the maritime potential of AI was still largely unexplored. SEA.AI thanks the Brittany Regional Council, Bpifrance, the maritime competitiveness clusters and all its partners for their support.
What is next for SEA.AI?
SEA.AI aims to accelerate the adoption of computer vision by shipbuilders, maritime professionals and organisations involved in maritime safety and surveillance. The goal is to make computer vision standard safety equipment on board vessels, alongside radar and AIS, and an indispensable component of maritime surveillance systems.
