- Joint project between Wärtsilä, Carnival Maritime & HVCC Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center emphasises the benefits of real-time data exchange between ship and port.
- New Wärtsilä system is the first commercially available ship-to-port product that enables dynamically optimised port approach and terminal berthing.
- The applied solution has received approval in principle from Bureau Veritas for meeting the classification society’s cyber security requirements.
- Just-In-Time (JIT) arrivals save fuel costs, reduce emissions, and support port operations.
Wärtsilä, together with project partners Carnival Maritime and HVCC Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC), have announced the successful implementation of a new solution for just-in-time sailing, reads a press release by Wärtsilä.
The partners have achieved the seamless exchange of data between ship and shore under real-life conditions, thereby enabling optimal port arrival.
Is the current modus operandi efficient?
Furthermore, the applied solution, Wärtsilä Navi-Port, has received approval in principle from Bureau Veritas Marine and Offshore for meeting the classification society’s cyber security requirements.
Ships frequently sail faster than necessary in order not to miss valuable berthing slots, only to find themselves having to wait at anchor before the pilot station. This queuing is the result of a lack of relevant data sharing between vessels and their destination ports.
The current modus operandi is often inefficient, with considerable financial impact, while the unnecessary burning of fuel at higher speeds adds to the levels of harmful emissions. This project targeted avoidable excesses of speed, on the basis that timing is everything.
Wärtsilä Navi-Port for data sharing
Wärtsilä Navi-Port is a middleware which will be hooked up to Wärtsilä’s Fleet Operations Solution (FOS) system.
FOS combines individual processes that are otherwise separated, to optimise voyage planning, weather routing and fuel consumption, taking into consideration charter party compliance, speed management, as well as the condition of the hull, propeller and engine.
Wärtsilä Navi-Port now facilitates the exchange of accurate arrival times between ports and ships, enabling vessels to automatically adjust speed to achieve a just-in-time arrival.
Dynamic, real-time data sharing improves co-ordination, allowing for modifications to course and speed should conditions at the port change during a voyage.
First ship-to-port communication platform
Navi-Port is the first commercially available ship-to-port communication platform that has applied the port call message standard as defined by the Sea Traffic Management (STM) validation project.
Today, nearly all the activity coordination from the port side happens via an agent, meaning there is a lot of point-to-point interaction. Connecting the port system with the vessel navigation system can automate correspondence and ease handling of a ship’s safe and timely arrival to port.
- If port conditions are incompatible with the vessel’s planned time of arrival, the berth scheduler suggests a new Requested Time of Arrival (RTA).
- The RTA is shared with Wärtsilä FOS and then sent directly to the vessel’s navigation system, along with an optimised, automatically calculated sailing speed.
- If the RTA is accepted by the Captain, the ship’s speed is automatically adjusted to respond to the new arrival time.
Depending on the decision-making process, the information can be shared with the shipping company’s Fleet Operation Centre. The changed Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is constantly communicated to the port.
Connectivity: New way of working
“We are committed to making cruising more sustainable, and to setting an example in greener and safer operations. For this, we welcome the development of new and more efficient technologies, such as the Wärtsilä Navi-Port. We have tested the solution with two of our ships, the AidaSol and the AidaPerla,” said Michael Salzmann, Senior Nautical Superintendent, Carnival Maritime.
He added, “The ships’ onboard Wärtsilä NACOS Platinum navigation systems were connected directly to HVCC, which allowed continuous communications, resulting in JIT arrivals in Hamburg – outstanding.”
“Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine Ecosystem approach is aimed at eliminating wasteful practices in shipping operations, and the Navi-Port solution does just that,” said Torsten Büssow, Director, Voyage, Wärtsilä.
“Connectivity is now enabling new ways of working. BV initiated the Smart Ship Programme a few years ago, so it feels like a natural fit for us to be a part of this important JIT pilot,” said Najmeh Masoudi, Technology Leader- Smart ships, Bureau Veritas.
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Source: Wärtsilä
