Combining digital advisory services will result in a full fleet performance management portfolio.
This is part of a growing trend, with software and vessel management solutions providers clubbing together to deliver full suites of services to shipping companies.
In this case, class society DNV GL is collaborating with StormGeo to offer fleet performance solutions under one service.
StormGeo will incorporate DNV GL’s ECO Insight and Navigator Insight solutions into its FleetDSS and ship reporting solutions. This offering will include:
This combined service will be rolled out to more than 12,000 vessels that will receive a daily service from StormGeo including voyage advice, weather intelligence, navigation and planning with fleet performance data. All this will be maintained by StormGeo, which intends to develop these solutions further and provide more analytics and vessel performance information in the future.
DNV GL has owned a 26.4% share in StormGeo since 2014 and will continue to provide technical support to ECO Insight customers. Up to 22 industry partners connect their data and analytics to ECO Insight, said DNV GL senior vice president for maritime Trond Hodne. “By combining it with StormGeo’s services we believe we can offer our customers a solution that not only gives broader functionality but taps into a richer data set. This will give our customers new and exciting services and insights to boost their competitiveness.”
StormGeo users can also share data through DNV GL’s open industry platform Veracity.
These solutions can lead shipping further into developing and adopting artificial intelligence (AI) for vessel operations and fleet optimisation. DNV GL segment director for offshore service vessels Arnstein Eknes thinks shipowners can make greater use of AI and shipping intelligence in reducing the administration of seafarers through adopting more automatic checking.
He explained at Riviera Maritime Media’s European Dynamic Positioning Conference, in London on 5 February, how AI would enable systems on board vessels to conduct their own health and performance checks. AI can help identify issues and run self-diagnostics. “Systems can do self-checks and self-validation, so operators can then focus on the reality of the job and prepare for emergencies,” said Mr Eknes. He was referring to dynamic positioning systems in that opinion, but this could be expanded to other onboard systems.
He thinks an ever-growing number of sensors will result in large volumes of data that need to be processed by algorithms, potentially facilitating more remote support to vessels.
The agreement to combine DNV GL and StormGeo services is subject to fulfilling certain customary closing conditions, but both partners expect the transaction will close by March 2019.
StormGeo chief executive Per-Olof Schroeder said combining DNV GL’s solutions within his portfolio will “enable us to accelerate the development of our fleet performance management offering by pooling the competence, software, and insight of both companies. He thinks shipping companies will use this to find “more ways to enhance the safety, efficiency, and transparency of their operations.”
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