Maersk Invests in Route Optimization Tools
Power and automation group ABB and Dutch weather forecasting specialist, MeteoGroup, have won an order from Maersk Line to outfit 140 container vessels with software to optimize routes.
The advisory software is aimed at optimizing routes, boosting maritime safety and protecting cargo based on factors including the hull design and the weather, helping them avoid conditions that could be harmful to the ship, its crew or its cargo.
The deal will see ABB combine its Octopus motion-monitoring, forecasting and decision-support software, which improves vessel availability and safety, with MeteoGroup’s SPOS Seekeeping plug-in.
ABB said that once the systems are fitted on Maersk Line ships, this will enable captains to define on-board loading conditions, and more accurately determine areas of the ocean where their ship’s motion is likely to exceed threshold values. Routes can then be optimized automatically to skirt adverse conditions, ensuring cargo arrives safely and on-time at its destination port.
“Both MeteoGroup and ABB take great pride in the fact that we are delivering an onboard advisory tool for the world’s biggest container shipping company,” said Heikki Soljama, managing director of ABB’s Marine and Ports business unit.
“This will enable Maersk to execute cargo transportation across the world in a safe and efficient manner.”
ABB’s Octopus advisory suite includes a three-dimensional hydrodynamic database for each individual hull type.
This means ABB’s software, together with MeteoGroup’s plug-in, produces accurate calculations about how a ship will respond to dynamic weather and ocean conditions.
According to ABB, the resulting routing advice is far more precise and tailored to the individual vessel because it takes into account environmental conditions such as wind, currents and swell along with the effect that these changing conditions may have on the ship’s behavior.
