Internal documents available to the editorial team point to an explosive pilot project in the water sports industry: under the name "Blue Courtesy Score", work is apparently underway on a system that rates sailors and motorboat drivers according to their behaviour. The aim is to achieve "more harmonious coexistence on the water". The concept reads like a mixture of mooring app, community rating, artificial intelligence and Schufa for skippers.
The plan is to create a digital behaviour and trust index involving marina operators, social media platforms, charter companies and other partners.
AI should recognise behaviour, patterns and compatibility
The "Blue Courtesy Score" is intended to combine several criteria. These include booking loyalty, punctuality, mooring discipline, behaviour during mooring and casting off manoeuvres, noise levels in the marina, compliance with rest periods and interaction with service personnel. Where available, AIS movement data or data from partner apps, such as GPS movement profiles, should also be taken into account.
Another point is particularly sensitive: According to the documents, the system should also be able to analyse public social media profiles and linked community accounts. The idea behind this is to categorise the interests, appearance and style of a crew even more precisely. The system could draw additional conclusions about behaviour and social compatibility, especially where users reveal a lot about themselves anyway.
The analysis and linking of this large amount of individual data should be largely AI-supported. It should not only create an overall value from the various data sources, but also recognise patterns, cluster anomalies and derive recommendations from them.
Schufa logic on the water
The procedure is thus reminiscent of familiar evaluation logic from other areas of life. As with Schufa, it would not be a single incident that would count, but the sum of various data points would be summarised to form a trust score. Only here it would not be about creditworthiness, but about reliability, consideration and social behaviour on the water.
The advantage of such a "Blue Courtesy Score" would be obvious from the operators' point of view. Marinas could allocate berths in a more targeted manner, charter companies could reduce booking risks and conflicts in busy harbours or bays could be identified and avoided earlier by crews. Users with a good score could receive faster booking confirmations, lower deposits or preferential berth offers. Insurers are also said to be open to the model. A more favourable risk classification for inconspicuous and reliably rated crews would be conceivable.
The other side of the coin
What initially sounds positive and advantageous could, however, quickly have a downside. What happens if the score is low or even negative?
Those with a poor rating may have fewer chances of obtaining coveted berths, would have to pay higher deposits or live with a blemish on their digital profile that would be almost impossible to get rid of.
"Toxic areas" could run into problems
According to the paper, district assessments would also be conceivable. This could again have both positive and negative consequences, but in this case for the respective maritime infrastructure.
This would make it possible to highlight areas that are primarily frequented by crews that are desirable according to the evaluations of the system and the respective preferences of the user. From the perspective of restaurants or companies in the maritime sector, this could have a positive impact on pricing - in other words, enable higher prices.
On the other hand, certain destinations could also be labelled "toxic". This refers to areas, harbours or buoy fields where negative feedback about noise, conflicts, inconsiderate behaviour or excessive partying has become more frequent. This could lead to crews increasingly avoiding these places, leaving restaurant operators or service providers out in the cold. True to the motto: "There are only louts there, don't go there!"
The glass water sportsman
The "Blue Courtesy Score" would take the digitalisation of water sports to a new level. For the first time, in addition to hard criteria such as booking loyalty, how someone behaves as a person on the water and in the harbour would also be assessed. The same AI that promises benefits such as better planning, more suitable neighbourhoods and fewer conflicts could also become the basis for digital pre-judgement.
When confronted with these risks, a spokesperson for the operator consortium played it down. This is initially a feasibility study and the first practical trials are not expected before summer 2026.
Is that credible?
Don't worry: such a "Blue Courtesy Score" does not yet exist and, according to our information, there are no plans for one.
The idea is an April Fool's joke. However, it doesn't seem to be completely out of thin air. Digital berth booking, community ratings, movement data, service feedback and behaviour scoring have long been available in many areas. The idea that an overarching reputation system could also emerge from this on the water at some point is therefore one thing above all: uncomfortably close.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
