The development of human civilization over the last decade has reached a landmark as Industry 4.0 has been widely introduced. Several aspects of industry and manufacturing activities are changing due to the Internet of Things (IoT), location detection technologies, and advanced human–machine interfaces. To enact industrial affairs under those specifications, a sensor is required to transform physical events into numerical information. The use of sensors in marine applications also appears in research and studies, in which the sensor is used for both monitoring the phenomena of a designated subject and data acquisition. Achievements in quantifying complex phenomena in critical maritime designs are fascinating subjects to discuss regarding their development and current states, which may be reliable references for further research on developing sensors and related measurement analysis tools in marine, shipbuilding, and shipping fields. This comprehensive review covers several discussion topics, including the origins and development of sensor technology, applied sensor engineering in logistic and shipping activities, the hydrodynamic characterization of designed hulls, the monitoring of advanced machinery performance, Arctic-based field observations, the detection of vibration-based damage to offshore structures, corrosion control and monitoring, and the measurement of explosions on critical maritime infrastructures.