MOL invests in weather observation, smart port technology 

MOL PLUS has invested in a developer and producer of maritime weather monitoring devices and will participate in a innovation accelerator programme aimed at smart port operations, logistics and shipping.

The Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) subsidiary is backing Metro Weather, a producer of compact, lightweight 3D wind measurement equipment which provides information on wind conditions. It is developing object detection sensors using Doppler LiDAR technology, and prediction solutions. This is the third investment made by MOL Plus in Metro Weather.

In addition, MOL is an innovation partner in the PIER71 Smart Port Challenge 2025 (SPC) through MOL’s Asia Oceania headquarters in Singapore and MOL Plus. This SPC programme is set to run over 10 weeks, starting in September, by Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined at Block 71 (PIER71), and is jointly founded by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore.

It provides start-ups worldwide with opportunities to propose and test solutions to improve logistics efficiency, maritime decarbonisation, and port digitalisation.

Under this scheme, MOL will provide business development support and investment to start-ups, and will create opportunities for proof-of-concept trials to technologies enabling innovations in shipping and logistics.