Workboat owners are witnessing improvements in fleet management, maintenance and fuel savings when deploying digitalisation technology
Towage management can be improved using digitalisation technology on workboats, including tugs. Implementing fleet management software has reduced maintenance and compliance costs for owners.
Foss Maritime deployed Helm Operations’ software Helm Connect as a centralised fleet management platform in June to streamline its operations and those of wholly-owned subsidiaries along the US west coast, in Hawaii and Alaska.
The platform will be used to centralise vessel dispatching, billing, maintenance, compliance and personnel management. One module in Helm Connect will enable Foss to monitor and track assets in the fleet of more than 200 workboats, said Foss chief operating officer Scott Merritt.
“Helm Connect tools help drive our commitment to incident-free operations and continuous improvement in every facet of our services. The personnel module will enhance the scheduling and payroll process for the over 800 Foss mariners,” said Mr Merritt.
GAC intends to deploy an integrated digital platform across its fleet of workboats and towage tugs to improve fuel efficiency and operations. It will install an internet of things (IoT) platform across the fleet, which will be a challenge, said GAC group chief information officer Martin Wallgren.
He told Tug Technology & Business that this IoT platform would be used for “calculating engine performance and measuring fuel consumption.” Data from onboard sensors can be analysed to reduce bunker and maintenance costs, he said.
Data will be transferred from vessels to be analysed by shore managers, and remain on board for vessel masters, said Mr Wallgren. “We are investigating what to measure and what we need to maintain, and we will need a platform for analytics,” he said.
When vessels are operating close to shore, data can be transferred over the local mobile phone 3G or 4G networks, “but handling data over these is tough,” said Mr Wallgren. When vessels operate outside of this coverage, data transmissions would be over satellites. However, there is not enough space on board some of GAC’s vessels to install the antennas needed for high-bandwidth satellite communications.
“There is less communications capacity for large volumes of data transmissions,” said Mr Wallgren. “So, we need to find a way to store data on board and then send the data as packages when these vessels are close to shore.”
“We need to find a way to store data on board and then send the data as packages when these vessels are close to shore”
Thailand-headquartered tug owner SC Group has tackled the communications challenge by working with satellite operator Thaicom, leading to an investment in satellite communications and an integrated fleet management system.
SC Group is installing Thaicom’s Nava VSAT on more than 30 towage and escort tugs, from a total fleet of 70 tugboats of all sizes, to enhance fleet operations and optimise operational efficiency. Communications and data transmissions will be integrated with Thaicom’s Nava Connect fleet administration service.
Thaicom’s maritime broadband platform was launched in February this year with C-band and Ku-band coverage around southern Asia seas and parts of the Indian Ocean. SC Group's fleet operates in southeast Asian ports providing towing, docking and undocking of vessels, navigating, marine emergency rescue and oil spill clean-up.
Norway-based fleet operator Wilson Ship Management has adopted Transas services for vessel performance monitoring, improving navigational safety and enhancing efficiency. Transas, a subsidiary of Wärtsilä, is providing fleet operations programs and machine-learning techniques Wilson expects will improve situational awareness for both crew and shore managers.
These services include obtaining fleet data from shore-based locations, onboard navigational and communication components, e-learning courses and a portfolio of decision support tools developed by Transas.
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