Before a maritime voyage even begins, mariners are tasked with gathering large amounts of data from several sources. These sources include charts, publications, weather forecasts, navigational warnings, environmental regulations, piracy reports and more. All this information must be analysed, amalgamated and considered together to determine a safe and compliant route.
In the recent launch of OneOcean 2021, we aimed to provide customers with an intelligent voyage planning solution that could bring all this information together into one visual display. By consolidating this data in one view, users can see the many variables that affect voyage planning and make informed decisions.
The new Voyage Planner module overlays multiple layers of maritime data from different sources to show how a route will be affected by various factors. This allows users to visually plot a course that is safe, compliant and timely. All the data required in a comprehensive passage plan is presented on a single screen. These layers contain information from other modules in the OneOcean platform, including Weather, EnviroManager and Ports, that can be turned on and off. The display also populates dynamically as the user zooms in, providing just the right level of detail.
This new functionality replaces siloed processes of the past. By coalescing data into one place, there is no need to toggle back and forth between screens to evaluate elements separately. Users can work more efficiently and save a great deal of time by conducting all appraisal activity in one place.
OneOcean’s Artificial Intelligence capabilities further assist decision-making with built-in route optimisation. Automated routes can be created, combining navigational data, safety thresholds, weather forecasts, operational events and fuel performance estimates to calculate the most efficient route a vessel can take. Routes can be optimised, and compared, based on three criteria: Time, Cost or Fuel. Using the EnviroManager layer as an example, if this was overlaid, users would be able to assess whether a default route would take the vessel through environmentally protected areas.
Other improvements were made to facilitate the visual integration of data. At any given moment, ships need to abide by a complex matrix of regulations, governed and enforced by various bodies. These regulations need to be respected as navigational activities are planned or companies risk heavy fines, not to mention reputational damage. It’s a challenge for mariners to ensure they are always aware of and complying with the most up to date regulations as they plan the events that will take place along their route. This is especially true for environmental regulations, which are becoming more ubiquitous worldwide and increasingly stringent.
There is no international regulatory body that maintains a database of regional and port environmental data, making it difficult for maritime companies to feel confident that all vessels across their fleets are abiding by regulations as they travel all over the world. Many of these regulations are so unclear and change so often that companies prefer to err on the side of caution and set their own environmental and safety policies that are even more prudent than what is externally mandated, thus ensuring their vessels are always compliant.
Through integration with FleetManager, shoreside HSEQ users can enter navigational, safety and environmental policies that can be applied across fleets or to specific vessels. These policies then appear in OneOcean, where they are visible to crew members aboard. The next time a navigational officer uses the VoyagePlanner module to plot a course from Santos to Singapore, for instance, he might see that the default route takes the vessel through weather that is too perilous for the ship’s maximum wind speed and wave height thresholds, or waters that are too shallow for the ship’s UKC minimum. These potential violations are flagged, notifying users visually through colour coding.
As OneOcean continues to evolve, our goal is to always set the standard in intelligent voyage management. We are confident that we have arrived at a solution that offers significant benefits to our customers, both ashore and onboard. To find out more about the new functionality in OneOcean 2021, contact us here.