<p>This paper presents a novel ship authentication framework that integrates blockchain technology, secure key agreement, and big data analytics to improve the security of maritime communications. The proposed scheme ensures the authenticity, confidentiality, and immutability of vessel data, including ship images, through a multifactor authentication approach combining cryptographic methods, location-based verification, and image analysis. Formal and informal security analyses, including automated verification using the Scyther tool, confirm the resistance of the scheme to a wide range of cyberattacks. Experimental evaluation and simulations demonstrate precise ship recognition, low computational and communication overhead, and practical scalability. The comparative analysis further validates the effectiveness of the proposed approach in advancing secure and trustworthy maritime communications.</p>