Maersk Orders Advisory Software for 140 Ships

Power and automation group ABB informs it is working with MeteoGroup to equip 140 containerships from Maersk Line with advisory software to optimize routes, boost maritime safety and protect cargo based on factors including the hull design and the weather; helping the shipping line 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.”

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 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.