BoatChecks has been awarded a prestigious Innovate UK grant to accelerate the development of its digital vessel management system for small commercial craft.
BoatChecks help operators of vessels under 24 metres ensure compliance, safety, and operational efficiency in line with Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) regulations. The funding, secured through Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will enable the UK-based maritime compliance and operations platform developed by SAB Software, to scale up its SaaS platform. The funding was awarded to SAB Software for its pioneering solution as it delivers high-impact innovation, together with a solid strategy to generate considerable economic benefit for the UK.
"We are thrilled to receive support from Innovate UK," said John Peacock, BoatChecks’ Founding Director. "This funding will allow us to expand our feature set, improve onboard usability, and deliver even greater value to operators of smaller commercial vessels, a sector that often lacks cost-effective, fit-for-purpose and robust compliance tools."
BoatChecks already supports users across the UK maritime sector, including operators of workboats, passenger vessels, aquaculture service boats, and harbour vessels. Its current features include digital documentation storage for safety certificates and SOPs, maintenance scheduling and defect tracking, crew certification monitoring and onboarding records, voyage and fuel logging, and onboard mobile functionality for low-connectivity environments.
The Innovate UK grant will be used to accelerate development of new tools including training records, dynamic risk assessments, live condition monitoring, and enhanced analytics, creating a more integrated compliance ecosystem for vessel owners and fleet managers.
This announcement follows BoatChecks’ partnership with UK fleet operator and port services provider, Williams Shipping, which has adopted the platform across its operational fleet, citing significant gains in safety assurance and crew accountability.
"This grant reflects the growing recognition that smaller vessel operators need modern, scalable tools to stay compliant and safe at sea," added John Peacock. "Our goal is to ensure the same digital transformation happening in large shipping is accessible to smaller fleets, without the complexity or high costs."
Innovate UK (IUK) provides targeted sectors with expertise, facilities and funding to test, demonstrate and evolve and realise the potential and to accelerate business growth.
