The maritime industry has always been a leader in developing cutting age technologies and adapting them not only to new ship construction but also to existing ships at sea. Engine fuels have evolved from coal to oil to natural gases to meet the world's changing environmental goals. The use of solar energy to meet vessel power demands is growing. Techincal refinements to ships' trim at sea improves vessel performance while reducing their environmental wake in the seas. Hull technical designs evolved significantly during the 20th Century steadily producing vessels with greater speeds and stability.

Examples of continual technology advances.