Applications of ship digital twins in maritime transport: A systematic review

Abstract

Ship digital twins are increasingly recognised as enabling technologies for intelligent and sustainable maritime transport; however, their large-scale deployment remains constrained by significant technical, operational, and organisational challenges. To address the fragmented nature of existing research, this study proposes a two-layer analytical framework that integrates quantitative bibliometric mapping with qualitative critical synthesis. First, a PRISMA-guided scientometric analysis of 739 publications was conducted using CiteSpace to reveal the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and emerging trajectories of ship digital twin research. The results indicate a clear transition from early modelling-oriented studies towards increasingly integrated, intelligent, and application-driven maritime cyber–physical systems. The analysis identified three key dimensions for characterising the current state of ship digital twin research: modelling methodologies, system hierarchy, and model validation and maturity. Second, 214 empirical studies were further selected for in-depth qualitative analysis focusing specifically on ship-based digital twins. These studies were systematically examined across three analytical dimensions: modelling methodologies, system hierarchy, and validation maturity. The review reveals that current ship digital twin research is evolving from isolated component-level simulations towards fleet-scale, interoperable, and adaptive cyber–physical ecosystems. In addition, six representative application domains were critically analysed, while explicitly distinguishing one-way digital shadows from bidirectional digital twins. Based on this two-layer analysis, six key deployment challenges are identified, including interoperability limitations, cybersecurity exposure, ethical and human-centred concerns, real-time operational constraints, legacy system barriers, and limited model generalisability. In response, four strategic research directions are proposed to support the development of scalable, trustworthy, and resilient maritime digital twin ecosystems. This study contributes a structured analytical framework and critical synthesis of ship digital twin research, providing both theoretical insights and practical guidance for advancing next-generation maritime digitalisation.