Ship Data Center (ShipDC) has been developing a big data platform since 2015 – the Internet of Ships Open Platform (IoS-OP) – for the maritime sector.The aim of IoS-OP is to create a new maritime sector in the digital age. IoS-OP has two domains; the cooperative domain and the competitive domain. In the cooperative domain, the common rules for data sharing have been developed and the datacenter services for collecting and distributing data from ships are provided. While the cooperative domain allows access to the distributed data, the competitive domain gives opportunities for data driven innovation. Such innovations will lead to new business models and services.In 2018, IoS-OP Consortium was established. It is organized by the ShipDC members, which include shipowners, ship managers, shipyards, marine manufacturers, information and communications technology companies, and so on. These members provide services based on their core expertise, and can also purchase ship data via ShipDC (if approved by the data owner) for improving their products and services.ShipDC is an independent company and a neutral body. It provides IoS-OP services such as secure data storage on cloud for the various needs involving ship data, access control using secret keys, and data distribution via RESTful APIs. The control and management of data access rights is available in accordance with IoS-OP common rules, and safe and equitable data distribution is ensured by implementing the Information Security Management System (ISO/IEC 27001).By joining IoS-OP, shipowners, ship managers, and operators can minimize data costs, have right of data portability, and ensure data ownership. Additionally, shipyards and manufacturers can access data throughout the industry, purchase it smoothly and quickly, and utilize it for data driven innovation.For more information about our activities and IoS-OP Consortium, please visit our website.