Data from clean technologies: powering up decarbonisation with digitalisation

There’s a lot of commentary in the media about digitalisation in shipping. One common claim is that shipping is behind the curve of technology adoption compared to other industries. But is that really true?

Shipping remains a complex and highly regulated industry. It takes time to develop and implement new technologies in this challenging environment. However, the sector also has a rich tradition of adopting new technologies when they are proven to perform as advertised, are commercially viable, and can be integrated within existing operational frameworks easily.

And, contrary to popular debate, when it comes to adopting digital technologies, shipping is in fact following the well-established path of other sectors that have incorporated and harnessed technology to enable business advancement. We have passed the ‘checkpoint’ of scepticism and limited uptake, and are now moving into a new phase where data and digital solutions are recognised for their power as vital catalysts of industry transformation.

In other words, it’s no longer a matter of whether the industry will embrace digitalisation, but rather, how rapidly it will do so, and whether companies are ready for it.

The biggest gamechanger has been around how our industry approaches and handles data. We are transitioning from an era where data was collected and stored passively, often leading to valuable insights being overlooked or forgotten, to a phase where data is being actively leveraged to inform business decisions and strategies. This actionable data has become a driving force behind both the industry’s digital transformation and its decarbonisation agenda.

This data comes from many sources – including those that might not be traditionally expected. It’s why we are interested in the role that clean technologies can play to enable not only shipping’s decarbonisation transformation, but also its digital one.

Clean technologies like our Silverstream® System are integrated within the fabric of a vessel, providing us with access to unparalleled insights into vessel hydrodynamic performance. Some of what we can achieve with this rich data source sits ‘close to home’. For example, our air lubrication system (ALS) has the potential to achieve even greater performance with the implementation of advanced data analysis techniques.

By incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning, we can transform a multitude of environmental and operational indicators such as weather, water conditions, speed, load, and route into valuable insights that can be used to optimise the behaviour of our ALS. This intelligent approach can significantly enhance the already impressive performance of our technology.

Even more excitingly, by connecting this capability to our global platform, we can generate insights not only based on a single ship, but on entire fleets. This allows for the exchange of learnings and best practices that have never been evaluated at a fleet level before, resulting in a wealth of valuable insights for customers.

The big leap has been harnessing data from our system, as well as multiple sensors around the vessel, to not only gain an in-depth understanding of air lubrication technology, but also identify factors that could influence the ship’s overall performance.

In simple terms, data can and will be used by clean technology manufacturers to raise both the floor and ceiling of fuel saving potential. Like the intelligent systems within modern cars that tune the vehicle’s engine as it drives, maritime clean technologies will learn and respond to their environment and operate in a way that ensures maximum efficiencies. Because clean technologies are so deeply incorporated within vessels, there is the potential for them to identify and unlock efficiencies that others may not even know exist. In other words, they become active and intelligent solutions to maximise the performance of a ship.

Silverstream is uniquely placed in the field of maritime data management, with an ambition to build a world-class data capability that drives growth and innovation for our customer base. We are investing in hydrodynamicists, data scientists, data engineers and software developers to create a bridge between traditional shipowners and their data, which will further enhance the value that our system creates for our customers.

However, we won’t get there overnight. Thinking about clean technologies in this way will require two key shifts in sentiment for shipping.

First, the reality is that we will have to become acquainted with humans being removed from active decision-making on some tactical elements of ship operation. The systems and algorithms that will power up vessel are already at the point where they use more information than a human can comprehend. Optimising clean technologies even further will require trust in the machine learning (and soon to be artificial intelligence) systems that underpin them.

Secondly, and more significantly, shipping will have to change its technology outlook. Currently, technology – whether physical or digital, traditional or innovative – is generally seen as a means to fulfil the requirements of today, not to anticipate the future.

We must continue to elevate our thinking about what proven technologies can do for ships, and develop a holistic vision of their impact. Fuel bills are cut, and emissions are reduced, certainly, but these technologies can be an even deeper enabler of change for shipping companies. Getting there is going to require a change in how we think about technologies and their impact on operations – and placing more trust in shipping’s digitalisation pathway as a vector for genuine, lasting change.
Source: By Mr. Nick Chrissos, Chief Digital & Information Officer, Silverstream Technologies