Thuraya chief commercial officer Rashid Baba lists the trending technology that will have an effect on maritime industries in the long-term
Some of the biggest technical trends in IT, communications and remote monitoring will have considerable impact on maritime industries. Some are already being deployed with success, such as container monitoring and tracking and advanced condition-based monitoring. Others are still to be introduced to shipping, in more than just test projects.
For example, 3D printing will increasingly find its way into vessel component manufacture, onboard repairs and spare parts, Thuraya chief commercial officer Rashid Baba told Marine Electronics & Communications. However, the milestones to date have been about proof of concept rather than any business case.
“3D printing is neither quick nor cheap at present, but we will see a continued trickle down of the technology until it is both,” he said. Unlike 3D printing, artificial intelligence (AI) is a concept that has already had an impact in shipping. Industrial users are taking advantage of learning algorithms, automated reporting systems and more risk-based predictive operations, said Mr Baba.
“In the shipping industry, applications are planned or already in operation that use AI to analyse behaviours in the logistic chain and risk scenarios, enabling better planning and contingency measures,” he explained.
Augmented reality (AR) will also have positive impact on maritime industries, sooner than 3D printing. “Because AR combines the practical benefit of better communications with the need to provide support to remote workers,” workers can benefit directly from the input of specialists in tackling complex technical challenges said Mr Baba.
“AR combines the practical benefit of better communications with the need to provide support to remote workers”
Likewise, IT platforms and blockchain technology is being developed for shipping and maritime logistics chains. “Shipping has joined the era of the IT platform,” said Mr Baba. “Those already established include the many vessel tracking services, class society initiatives and the numerous blockchain partnerships.”
He added that blockchain provides a means of securing digital information flow “in an industry that is still awash with paper shipping documents”. However, blockchain technology still has challenges to overcome, including issues with using crypto-currencies and the computing power it requires.
Another technology that poses practical challenges in shipping is big data analytics because of the “issues of gathering and working successfully with large data volumes,” Mr Baba said. He thinks data that could potentially be collected on vessel performance would be “more than enough to overwhelm the recipient.” A solution could be to just “focus on the outliers and exceptions” within the data.
He noted that many software vendors have begun to capitalise on the need for regulatory reporting and performance data analysis. This has its benefits to shipping as analysis “enables owners to concentrate on the issues that need most attention rather than wade through lakes of data in the hope of catching something,” Mr Baba explained.
One example of how this can improve ship operations is condition monitoring. It is already being used by manufacturers to assess hull and machinery, but it is now being extended to other areas of technology across the whole ship.
Mr Baba expects the digital twin concept – which uses a digital model of a ship to assess situations and remedies – to “radically alter the process of shipmanagement and operations, with data streaming to dashboards that enable a more holistic analysis of the vessel’s condition.”
Another application of data processing is container monitoring and tracking. Maersk Line, for example, is tracking 270,000 refrigerated containers fitted with sensors and transceivers for two-way communications through cellular and satellite networks.
“Maersk set up the project for its own needs and used it to monitor the temperature of each box, make adjustments depending on the vessel schedule, track maintenance and schedule repairs,” said Mr Baba.
“It saved millions of dollars in cargo claims, despite the data required being comparatively small, relying as it does on a hybrid shipboard network and satellite connectivity.” Mr Baba said this technical concept demonstrates that “the simplest ideas can have the biggest impact” on shipping.
Technology trends
• 3D printing
• Artificial intelligence
• Augmented reality
• Big data analytics
• Blockchain
• Condition monitoring
• Container monitoring
• Digital twin
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