Objectives Faced with unstable network environments at sea, this study aims to develop a novel information integration model and method to improve data transmission efficiency and reduce communication costs.

Methods This study introduces a distributed information integration method based on the"request-response" model, combined with the effective organization and management of information elements. By precisely defining the organization of information elements, efficient acquisition of metadata and creation of platform metadata databases were achieved. Furthermore, the study involves the design of an information identifier resolution, metadata mapping configuration, and a dynamic parsing compiler for SQL statements, effectively addressing the issue of semantic heterogeneity and achieving seamless data integration between different software systems.

Results Experimental results indicate that, compared to traditional models, the request-response based data integration method significantly reduces 24-hour communication volume. In individual data integration experiments, the 24-hour communication volume was reduced considerably from 3 456 000 bytes in the original model to 3 696 bytes (per hour request) and 154 bytes (per day request). For 10-item data integration, the 24-hour communication volume was reduced from 11 232 000 bytes in the original model to 17 952 bytes and 748 bytes. Additionally, this method effectively reduces the frequency of data transmission while maintaining the effectiveness of data utilization, significantly improving data processing efficiency and accuracy.

Conclusions This study demonstrates the efficiency and practicality of the distributed information integration method based on the “request-response” model in unstable maritime network environments. It provides a new technical approach for ship operation and maintenance data integration and offers valuable insights for research in related fields.