Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published Aug 31, 2022 6:45 PM by The Maritime Executive

Augmented Routing Optimization which integrates weather routing into AI-based voyage analytics is changing what is possible in ship performance, according to METIS Cyberspace Technology.   The maritime data analytics specialist says that adding weather routing functionality to vessel analysis means voyage performance can be optimized to take account not only of an individual ship’s characteristics and cargo requirements, but the conditions in which it is working. Conventional weather routing services help operators avoid ‘unwanted weather’ and choose safer routes but they use generic ship information, explains Mike Konstantinidis, CEO, METIS Cyberspace Technology. “In reality, even sister ships develop unique performance profiles due to variations in machinery, hull fouling, hull damages, maintenance and repairs, quality and type of fuel oil, and crew skills. Individual ship performance and cargo characteristics information is vital for safety and for choosing the ‘best’ route to save fuel and reduce emissions.” Augmented Routing Optimization integrates weather routing functionality from specialized service providers seamlessly into the cloud-based METIS analytics platform. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), weather routing becomes part of the real-time METIS analytics which is already optimizing an individual ship’s performance for fuel consumption, hull fouling, emissions, etc. “By integrating weather routing functionality in the METIS platform, we can take account of all of the variables affecting the ship using a single interface. This delivers a huge leap forward in voyage optimization, so that comparisons can be made in the most accurate way, and sets new data-driven standards which enhance ship safety, efficiency and sustainability,” continues Konstantinidis.   The International Maritime Organization and International Association of Marine Underwriters work with assumptions that weather routing helps ships save over 3% in fuel consumption. Augmented Routing Optimization is already proving far more productive, he says. “In one six-month pilot using METIS Augmented Routing Optimization advisory functionality, a METIS customer achieved a 923mt cut in FO consumption, equivalent to around $750,000 at today’s prices.  This was despite the fact that the distance travelled by the ship increased by 25%. Furthermore, the CII was calculated as 19.5% lower”. Onboard ship, Augmented Routing Optimization enables ship-specific comparisons between the weather optimized route with other user-defined routes. Onshore, managers can take account of route adjustments, calculate and recalculate optimum routes to optimize schedules, and better evaluate voyage and post-voyage performance against expectations or charter party terms. “This is a new demonstration of what is possible when different services are integrated in the METIS platform,” says Konstantinidis. “The user experiences capabilities greater than the sum of its parts in terms of analytic power as a single and convenient Augmented Routing Optimization tool.”

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Published Sep 2, 2022 10:49 PM by The Maritime Executive

The German government announced plans for its fifth Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) as part of the effort to replace the gas that it previously imported from Russia. Texas-based Excelerate Energy signed an agreement with ENGIE, which is responsible for chartering the FSRU on behalf of the German Federal Government. It will be located at the port of Wilhelmshaven with Tree Energy Solutions (TES) responsible for the development and operation of the FSRU. The fifth FSRU arranged by the government,...

Published Sep 2, 2022 9:21 PM by The Maritime Executive

The third and final Ollis Class Staten Island Ferry built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group for the City of New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division has been completed. The vessel, which is part of an effort to modernize and improve the ferry service, departed ESG’s Port St. Joe Shipyard on September 1, bound for New York. Dann Ocean Towing’s Sarah Dann is towing the ferry from Eastern’s shipyard in Port St. Joe, FL to New York City,...

Published Sep 2, 2022 9:16 PM by Mark Venables

When it comes to autonomous shipping, grandiose visions of fully unmanned vessels sailing the world's oceans and ports are often painted. However, the truth is there are still a host of hurdles to be jumped before we can reach that utopian vision. According to a recent report from Wärtsilä, these include the lack of compelling business cases, an agreed regulatory framework and uncertainty over whether fully unmanned vessels are even desirable.  That raises a very pertinent point, which is the...

Published Sep 2, 2022 9:04 PM by William Thiesen

. . . [Captain] Fraser opposed an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and this official’s hostility proved fatal to the Captain’s long career: by an arbitrary abuse of power, the administration in 1856 revoked his commission summarily. Both indefensible and stupid, this action resulted wholly from personal animosity and cost the government one of the most far-sighted and loyal men who ever sailed in the Revenue-Marine.    - Stephen Evans, The United States...

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