Shipping tech pioneer drops freight data for electronic beats
Antoine Grisay, co-founder of Shipfix, launches electronic track 14 Knots dedicated to female seafarers.
Antoine Grisay, the co-founder of maritime data platform Shipfix, has traded freight analytics for synthesizers, launching an electronic music project under the nautical alias Handysize. His debut track, 14 Knots, is a tribute to women working at sea, a group that represents just 1 in 50 seafarers globally and navigates an industry historically designed for men.
Grisay, who previously built Shipfix into a leading freight and data platform before its acquisition by Veson Nautical, describes 14 Knots as both an artistic experiment and a celebration. The track and its accompanying video explore the tension between the professional role of an officer and the person beneath the uniform, a dynamic Grisay argues is particularly fraught for women in shipping.
“Roughly one in fifty seafarers worldwide is a woman, and the world they work in was not designed with them in mind. So femininity gets folded away. Softness gets read as a liability. Vulnerability goes under the uniform and stays there for the length of the contract.”
Antoine Grisay·Co-founder of Shipfix and Handysize
From Shipfix to Handysize: Grisay’s bet on music and tech: female seafarers
Grisay’s return to music after a 12-year hiatus is more than a personal passion project. The experiment has already sparked curiosity, a reaction Grisay anticipated.
“It’s going to be an interesting test in the music market. If anything, it has sparked a lot of curiosity, which is kind of what you want at launch.”
Antoine Grisay·Co-founder of Shipfix and Handysize
Beyond music, Grisay remains deeply embedded in the maritime world. He’s currently building Aura, a technology venture aimed at bridging the gap between artists and fans. His bullish outlook on shipping’s future reflects his dual identity as both a tech entrepreneur and a creative. Despite the industry’s cyclical nature, typically a seven-to-10-year pattern, Grisay argues that geopolitical shifts are remapping trade routes in ways that defy traditional forecasting.
“We are witnessing one of the biggest geopolitical power shifts since World War Two. Many trade patterns and shipping routes are being remapped dynamically and structurally.”
Antoine Grisay·Co-founder of Shipfix and Handysize
Even as AI reshapes trading and broking desks, Grisay emphasises that reliable reference data will become more critical than ever. He even suggests that AIS (Automatic Identification System) could eventually take a backseat as Starlink and high-frequency vessel telemetry become ubiquitous.
Con estas perspectivas, Grisay participará en el panel ‘Innovación y Geopolítica en el Transporte Marítimo’ del próximo Maritime Innovation Forum, previsto para el 15 de octubre en Róterdam. Los asistentes podrán contrastar sus proyecciones con los datos del informe anual de la UNCTAD, cuya publicación está programada para el 30 de septiembre.
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