Orca AI, an autonomous maritime navigation platform, has launched Co-Captain, which they describe as the world’s first ‘Waze of the Seas’. This new function enables connected vessels to share real-time, verified navigational data with one another, significantly enhancing situational awareness and maritime safety.
Key Features of Co-Captain
Co-Captain connects a growing network of over 1,000 Orca AI-installed vessels, turning each ship into a sensor and source of awareness. The shared information is crucial for anticipating hazards and navigating with higher confidence.
- Crowdsourced Navigational Engine: The platform is built on data collected from its network of vessels, aiming to be the most accurate crowdsourced navigational engine in shipping history.
- Real-Time Alerts: Alerts are shared based on live conditions and are enriched with external data, including weather, vessel traffic, and local regulatory feeds.
- Detection of Non-AIS Targets: Each equipped vessel detects high-risk targets that do not use the Automatic Identification System (AIS), such as fishing vessels, small crafts, and navigational hazards (e.g., fishing nets).
- Anonymized Data: All data is fully anonymized, with only the location and observed conditions reported to ensure complete privacy for the participating vessels.
Route-Specific Notifications and Hazards
Co-Captain delivers verified, route-specific notifications tailored to each vessel’s operational context, allowing crews to make timely adjustments to speed, course, or watchkeeping.
| Hazard Category | Alert Details |
| Traffic and Congestion | Alerts based on live traffic density and recent close encounters, prompting adjustments or assigning an additional Officer of the Watch (OOW). |
| Weather | Real-time warnings, including Beaufort Scale readings and visibility data, enabling advance crew preparation. |
| Navigation Interference | Relayed alerts on GNSS spoofing/jamming detected by other vessels, along with warnings about areas prone to interference. |
| Security | Alerts before entering high-risk piracy zones, prompting the activation of security protocols. |
| Environmental & Regulatory | Automated updates on whale sightings, whale-protection zones, emission-control areas, and local speed limits. |
| Unmarked Obstacles | Reports on buoy shifts, unmarked obstacles, ice, man-overboard incidents, and pollution shared between vessels, along with updates on temporarily closed or restricted areas. |
The Imperative for Collaborative Navigation
The launch of Co-Captain is a direct response to rising maritime safety incidents, which increased by 42% between 2018 and 2024, reaching 3,310 cases. Orca AI’s CEO, Yarden Gross, stresses that collaborative navigation is a safety, environmental, and security imperative for an industry that handles 90% of international trade. The platform’s foundation of over 100 million nautical miles of collected data continuously strengthens its detection accuracy and predictive power.
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Source: PR Newswire
