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UHL deploys weather routeing on heavy-lift ships
A heavy cargo transport ship owner is deploying machine learning and digital twins to enhance weather routeing to reduce navigational risks
United Heavy Lift (UHL) is installing technology on over half of the vessels in its fleet to improve routeing around adverse weather and ocean conditions to lower the risk to these assets and the heavy cargoes they transport.
The German subsidiary of United Group is deploying Syroco’s weather routeing tools on 11 heavy cargo transport ships used for heavy lift, breakbulk and project cargoes.
These 150-m F900 Eco-Lifter class ships, with a transport capacity of more than 15,000 tonnes, transport cargo including modules, renewable energy components, machinery, mining equipment and other industrial goods.
Syroco uses a digital twin of the vessel, weather information and machine learning to generate a voyage plan optimised for fuel consumption and avoiding poor sailing conditions. It accounts for operating constraints such as the desired arrival time and the seakeeping parameters of the laden vessel.
After departure, Syroco updates the route as often as necessary to account for weather conditions and schedule.
UHL is installing Syroco’s Onwatch service and onboard live application on 11 ships in its fleet of 19 heavy lift vessels after a pilot programme involving three ships.
“Given the diversity of cargo entrusted to us, no voyage is identical to another,” said UHL director of fleet management, Lars zum Felde. “The Syroco platform is versatile, using accurate digital twins that take into account the specific seakeeping characteristics of the vessels, which vary greatly based on the load carried,” he explained.
F900 Eco-Lifter sister vessels, built from 2018 to 2024, are the core of the UHL fleet.
“During the pilot phase, we were able to significantly improve decision making, increase the accuracy of performance predictions, and measure a reduction in fuel consumption,” said Mr zum Felde. “Because the solution was proven more reliable than other routeing tools used in the past, it generated strong adoption by our crews.”
Syroco Onwatch supports onboard decision making and analyses voyage conditions and performance, enabling navigators to minimise encounters with severe weather depressions, which often cause adverse weather and sea conditions.
“The UHL pilot phase has proven the effectiveness of the Syroco platform on their vessels, and the relevance of the support our team offers,” said Syroco president and co-founder Alex Caizergues. “With this extended deployment, UHL is placing in the hands of crews a latest generation routeing and trip optimisation solution which will reduce the energy footprint of operations, while enhancing safety and performance.”
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