Ships with Furuno Electric navigation equipment could use software to optimise voyages following an agreement with Napa
Furuno will incorporate Napa Voyage Optimization into its new passage planning station PS-100, enabling weather routeing and better route management. PS-100 is currently under development for voyage planning, monitoring and briefing on ship bridges.
Furuno said PS-100 will improve the efficiency and safety of ship operations and the productivity of bridge teams, enabling functions previously conducted around paper charts for route planning to be completed with electronic charts displayed on a touch-panel interface.
Integrating Napa software will allow bridge teams to select optimal routes to reduce fuel consumption to an allocated time of arrival and speed.
Napa software uses proprietary performance models to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and bunker costs for owners. These can be graphically displayed and interacted with on the Furuno PS-100 planning station.
PS-100 can consolidate and display information for voyage planning, monitoring and management, including vessel navigation data, radar echoes and target information, AIS and weather information, routes and user electronic charts and provide recommendations for optimised voyages between ports.
“This development is the latest step of a long-term collaboration agreement between Furuno and Napa to support the digitalisation of ship operations,” said Furuno senior executive officer Kazuma Waimatsu.
“By combining our domain expertise, we intend to generate new advantages and significant benefits for shipowners through innovative technologies.”
Furuno continues to develop new functions in PS-100, helping onshore managers to optimise and monitor ship routeing by acquiring, monitoring and displaying information on managed vessels from shore via the ship’s internet connectivity.
“This is a fantastic example of how better connectivity, powerful 3D modelling capabilities and innovative hardware can come together to take voyage optimisation to a new level,” said Napa Shipping Solutions executive vice president Pekka Pakkanen.
“By combining Furuno’s navigation equipment and services with Napa’s operational performance optimisation solutions, we will help shipping, ship management, and ship owning companies to improve the efficiency of their operations, reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions, improve crew productivity, and optimise ship management from shore.”
Napa Voyage Optimization will be an optional feature that requires a separate contract between Furuno and the shipowner.
Riviera Maritime Media will be hosting the Ship Navigation & Route Optimisation Webinar Week, 5-7 July. Use this link for more details and to register for these webinars
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.