Authors : Gerson Japhet Fumbuka

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 2 - February

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/ytmpxcvf

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/af69d6h4

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26feb663

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : The maritime sector, which plays a key role in global trade, largely functions in a linear "take-make-dispose" paradigm and produces large amounts of waste and environmental damage. Transitioning to a Circular Economy (CE) is crucial for sustainability but is hampered by a lack of digital infrastructure. Without robust systems to track materials and assets throughout their lifecycle, the waste management is inefficient, and when vessels are decommissioned, resources are wasted. This research aims to design a centralized digital framework, a Maritime Asset Passport (MAP), to improve CE in the maritime industry, which can serve as a standardized database to record material composition, ownership history, and maintenance records along the lifecycle of a vessel. The study combines CE principles (Reduce, Reuse, Remanufacture, Recycle) with the current trends of digitalization to create the conceptual architecture of the system and the data-driven feedback loops that enable circular supply chains. The goal of the study is to develop a framework to show how digital asset tracking improves the visibility, accessibility, and reusability of ship components. The Maritime Asset Passport aims to convert waste management from a financial cost to a value-creating activity by ensuring that materials are remanufactured or recycled instead of downcycled or discarded. The Maritime Asset Passport can be considered a pioneering innovation for the maritime industry that has the potential to develop new value streams, decrease the cost of waste management, increase the security of resources, and make ports and shipping companies active agents in the global transition to circular and resource-efficient maritime practices.

Keywords : Circular Economy, Maritime Industry, Digitalization, Asset Tracking, Waste Management, Sustainable Business Models.

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