ABB To Optimize Maersk Line's Routes

ABB and Dutch weather forecasting specialist, MeteoGroup, have won an order to outfit 140 container vessels with software to optimize routes

ABB, the leading power and automation group, is working with MeteoGroup to equip 140 container ships from Maersk Line with advisory software to optimize routes, boost maritime safety and protect precious 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. Once 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.”

This innovative software solution reflects ABB’s focus on the Internet of Things, Services and People in helping marine customers leverage vast amounts of previously untapped data about their ships to boost the efficiency and safety of their operations while cutting costs. Innovation has always been a key source of competitive advantage for ABB and is a key element of the company`s Next Level strategy.

ABB’s Octopus advisory suite, which is also deployed aboard liquefied natural gas tankers and the world’s biggest cruise ships, includes a three-dimensional hydrodynamic database for each individual hull type. This means ABB’s software, together with MeteoGroup’s plug-in, produces very accurate calculations about how a ship will respond to dynamic weather and ocean conditions. The resulting routing advice is far more precise and tailored to the individual vessel because it takes into account not only environmental conditions such as wind, currents and swell but also the effect these changing conditions may have on the ship’s behavior.

ABB offers the widest portfolio of marine advisory and optimization systems to the maritime market. Its performance management solution consists of the Octopus advisory suite and the `Emma` advisory suite, a decision support toolkit to minimize the overall fuel and energy costs for a whole fleet.