The power of AI

Serafeim Katsikas, METIS Cyberspace Technology, Greece, explains how a recent commercial breakthrough adds specialised gas carrier operations to the range of vessels benefitting from AI-based data acquisition, real-time performance monitoring, and intelligent analytics solutions.

cloud-based and using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the METIS analytics platform enjoyed exceptional uptake through 2020, with over 250 vessels of different types now using the integrated performance monitoring and evaluation solution.

In early 2021, another breakthrough was achieved after a well-known Asian ship manager became the first gas carrier operator to select a new METIS cargo handling and energy efficiency option for its ships, having upgraded to the Inmarsat Fleet Data IoT platform. Functionality specifically developed for LNG and LPG vessels has resulted in METIS monitoring and evaluation now enhancing operations for four gas carriers.

As a cloud-based platform, the solution is specific to the gas ship data acquisition and analytics needs of the ship’s owner/manager, but agnostic as far as the original maker of the equipment monitored and evaluated on board is concerned. Data acquired from shipboard sensors is uploaded for application program interface (API) exchange with the METIS analytics hub.

The data is stored securely alongside information from other sources, such as weather providers and traffic monitoring services including AIS, as well as corporate and maintenance planning systems. All of this data is immediately available to the micro-service functionality interacting with end users.

Round the clock data provides a rich, high-resolution picture of ship performance, while the ability to pool, access, and manipulate data for multiple purposes is one of the game-changing ways maritime digitalisation enhances ship efficiency, safety, and environmental performance.

Ship-specific data needs

This is a qualitative approach that contrasts markedly from the one-size-fits-all model seen in the maritime space until now, where everyone was presented with the same unfiltered data, leaving it up to the individual user to manipulate or interpret it.

Requirements vary by ship type, and even among supposed sister ships. The METIS system has therefore been developed as highly configurable to detect and act on significant events based on thresholds specific to individual vessels. Its diagnostic capabilities help engineers pin down the likely cause of any anomaly, while predictive capabilities enable the planning of corrective actions.

LNG trades demand thorough monitoring of the sensitivities to temperature, pressure, and conditions of special cargoes in storage, in transit, and during handling, but also precise and timely information relevant to each vessel. METIS has developed specialised functionality to monitor and evaluate parameters through the entire voyage, including during loading and discharge.

Figure 1. METIS has developed new artificial intelligence (AI)driven cargo handling and energy efficiency functionality for gas carrier operations.

Figure 2. Now on over 250 vessels sailing globally, the METIS end-to-end digital transformation platform is powered by machine learning and AI.

Figure 3. The METIS Virtual Personal Assistant is the first ‘chatbot’ for the maritime industry.

Cargo conditional

Where cargoes in transit are concerned, the METIS package for gas carriers monitors the condition of cargo tanks in real-time, with live dashboards showing the latest readings covering critical cargo parameters (temperature, pressure, and tank level), and a record of measurements over the previous 24 hours. Functionality also enables the ship’s owner/manager to evaluate the condition of cargo tanks over longer periods to develop performance insights across a range of conditions.

Loading and discharging is also monitored in real-time to ensure adherence to the strict operational guidelines that apply wherever cargoes are handled and that the condition of cargoes remains within the required range of values.

In a move also specific to gas carrier power consumption, the METIS solution continuously monitors and evaluates the performance of diesel generators in their critical role of maintaining conditions in the cargo tank. As well as ensuring the availability and reliability of machinery, generator performance is evaluated for optimised fuel oil consumption and responsiveness, reflecting the higher power required for handling cargoes for these types of ships compared to conventional tanker and bulk carrier counterparts.

Weather sensitive routing

Where other vessel types are concerned, the machine learning supporting the METIS platform has achieved significant successes in route planning. Speed profile, fuel consumption, hull fouling, and other parameters that include the weather conditions that the vessel is likely to encounter can be used to generate what-if scenarios and propose a route that strikes the best possible balance between safety, voyage time, and fuel efficiency. One customer reported a 21.5% reduction in fuel consumption as a result, while another took the benefit as a one-and-a-half day cut in transit time plus a more moderate fuel saving.

LNG cargoes are especially sensitive to changes in conditions at sea, adding value to any solution which promises to enhance voyage planning. The recent collaborative project involving four gas ships also included the use of data analytics as a tool to optimise route selection.

METIS does not offer real-time weather services in its own right, but offers virtual scenarios based on predictions from three forecast providers, which in combination with actual vessel performance and hull condition data have allowed the carrier operator to evaluate routing alternatives.

Multiple stakeholders

Safety, efficiency, and environmental performance can only benefit from the availability of timely information, while accumulated data and evaluation becomes increasingly useful as a decision-making tool for multiple stakeholders.

Data keeping and analysis will also be vital to ensuring that International Maritime Organization (IMO) targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions are met, as demonstrated by the coming into effect of the Energy Efficiency Index for Existing Ships (EEXI).

A central feature of the METIS approach involves fuel oil monitoring and analysis. This is based on the real-time collection and processing of data from the main engine; diesel generator and boiler flowmeters; cargo profile parameters; hull and propeller operation parameters; vessel speed with respect to the ground; and sea/weather conditions. As long as particulars regarding the vessel, the rudder, and the propeller are known, these parameters can be used to calculate the vessel’s actual fuel total consumption, correlated to speed and power delivered to the propeller.

However, given that IMO envisages a 40% reduction in ship GHGs by 2030, existing ships will either need to be modified in quite radical ways to make the cut, or adopt lower CO2 emitting fuels such as LNG on a transition basis as one part of a comprehensive carbon-cutting strategy.

METIS recently launched a tool for the shipping industry to predict the trade-off between emissions reduction and debt servicing for ships financed under the Poseidon Principles. This module, launched in early 2021, calculates whether and when ships need investment to keep pace with the IMO average efficiency ratio (AER) underpinning the Principles.

In a first application, one owner determined that, while it was not necessary to make any investment in some of its ships, others needed modification either immediately or in the future, while two should be disposed of straightaway.

Another newly developed digital tool within the METIS portfolio has special relevance to the gas carrier sector – especially the spot market. The company recently launched a software module to tackle the challenges shipping companies face in monitoring vessel performance effectively to meet Charter Party Agreement (CPA) reporting needs.

The system uses weather data, vessel manoeuvring status, and all other remarks included in the CPA, and offers automated notifications in case the speed consumption curve exceeds predefined limits. The company has made it possible for LNG carrier operators to monitor and track their vessel’s CPA performance at a glance online, using a set of visually rich dashboards. Once all CPA terms are imported into the system, the user can monitor all vessels concerned and identify potential deviations to specified consumption and speed terms.

Conclusion

Data-driven decision making helps those ashore and at sea generate scenarios quickly and easily, whether they are based on the current conditions faced by a vessel, the expectations of multiple stakeholders, or the continuing viability of an asset at a time of advancing restrictions on emissions.

METIS is helping shipping decide on the optimal course of action, without its captains, superintendents, or business leaders having to resort to guesswork.