Ocean Network Express and MTI Establish QUAVEO — AI Joint Venture for Container Shipping

Ocean Network Express (ONE), one of the world's largest container shipping companies with over 260 vessels and services connecting more than 120 countries, has established a joint venture with Japanese technology group MTI to build AI-driven digital transformation capability from the inside out. QUAVEO Company Limited, incorporated in December 2025 and headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is capitalised at US$1.6 million (MTI 51%, ONE 49%) and focuses on developing and deploying AI solutions that function at the operational level — not in vendor demonstrations. What QUAVEO will do: The joint venture targets three core areas: operational optimisation using AI for vessel allocation plans, equipment operations, and logistics processes; business automation through AI agents that handle repetitive commercial and operational tasks; and AI talent development, building teams of AI professionals who understand real shipping operations rather than abstract data science. The company will leverage generative AI and large language models (LLMs) for operational deployment, with an explicit focus on moving beyond the proof-of-concept stage that has stalled many maritime AI initiatives. Why Vietnam: Locating QUAVEO in Ho Chi Minh City is a strategic choice — access to a growing pool of AI talent at competitive cost, combined with MTI's existing Vietnamese subsidiary (MTI Technology), which had already been building AI development and data science capability. The JV structure gives ONE direct access to AI development capability without building an internal technology division from scratch, while MTI gains a commercial partner with deep operational knowledge of the container shipping industry. The broader signal: ONE's decision to create a dedicated AI entity rather than procure AI tools from external vendors is the structurally important development. It signals that at least one of the world's largest liner operators has concluded that meaningful AI-driven transformation requires owning the development capability — understanding the data, training the models on actual operational complexity, and deploying solutions that survive contact with live shipping operations. Ichiro Igari, Managing Executive Officer of MTI and CEO of QUAVEO, described the market reality directly: the ability to flexibly conceive AI applications from a business perspective, as the technology evolves at unprecedented speed, is now a market requirement. Why this matters for ship managers: The QUAVEO model raises a question for every ship management company: are you building AI capability or renting it? Vendor procurement gives you tools; a dedicated AI entity gives you the ability to adapt those tools to your specific operational reality and generate proprietary competitive advantage. Not every operator needs a joint venture, but the direction of travel is clear — the companies that will extract the most value from AI in shipping are those that invest in understanding the technology deeply enough to deploy it on their own terms. [ONE · Container News · Smart Maritime Network]

This story is part of the Maritime AI Digest of 3 May 2026.