Barriers Affecting Digitalisation of The Maritime Industry in Sri Lanka

This study examines the digital transformation of Sri Lanka's maritime industry, focusing on identifying key barriers, analysing their interconnections, and assessing the digitalisation potential in import, export, and freight forwarding operations. Through a systematic review, this study identifies five primary categories of barriers to digitalisation: organisational and management-related, operational, resource-related, market-related, and technological barriers. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 148 professionals in the maritime sector, including stakeholders from shipping agencies, freight forwarders, and port authorities, who were selected using the snowball sampling method. The collected data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to assess the influence of each barrier on the digitalisation level of Sri Lanka’s maritime industry. The findings confirm that all five barrier types significantly hinder digitalisation, with organisational and management-related barriers having the strongest and most negative impact.  Additionally, ordinal data analysis was used to evaluate the current and potential digitalisation levels in imports, exports, and freight forwarding. The results reveal significant gaps between the existing and potential states, particularly in critical operations. These insights can help stakeholders address key barriers and implement targeted actions to boost digital adoption, improve efficiency, and enhance global competitiveness in the industry. The findings contribute not only to the academic discourse on maritime digitalisation but also serve as a practical guide for policymakers, industry leaders, and practitioners navigating the complexities of digital transformation in Sri Lanka’s maritime sector.