Investment in IT improves tanker productivity

Tanker owners should invest in better IT and communications systems to maximise the use of operational information to boost vessel productivity and reduce operating costs. Robert Bugbee, Scorpio Group president and director, believes capital investors are attracted to shipowners who abide by the latest regulations and invest in new technology.

“We need to be at the forefront of change and our industry needs to embrace technical changes,” he said at Riviera Maritime Media’s Tanker Shipping & Trade conference in London, in November. “There is new technology for safety and regulatory compliance, for crew welfare and better data analysis.” He said it was important for Scorpio’s ships to be connected to shore for the transmission of operational data.

Tanker operators should utilise more of this operational data to improve their environmental footprint, Norden manager Ulla Nielsen said.

“We have systems to collect data automatically and have more variety of information, such as fuel consumption, vessel speed, and meteorological data,” she said at the conference.

“We have automatic communication between our captains and the offices, and we have regular reports so our operators can see what is happening. It is a matter of organising the system to show the data that is relevant for performance-driven operations.”

Mike Powell, director of consultants Cardinal Point Marine, outlined what owners should be considering. “Operators need to use data telemetry and analysis to enhance productivity through system interaction and remote monitoring of operations,” he explained.

There should be automatic interfaces with stakeholders. But there are challenges to overcome. There are risks because of hardware and software vulnerabilities, maintaining system integrity and incompatible IT platforms.

“In the future, there will be huge communication loads on to vessels,” Mr Powell said. “There should be a supporting single channel that is close to the operating unit and tackles these issues. Operators need to apply technology to get data working for them in an integrated system, where systems communicate with each other.” MEC