Fujitsu, MOL, Ube test ship performance technology

Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced that it has conducted a trial of a ship performance estimation technology together with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Ube Shipping & Logistics, Ltd.

Developed by Fujitsu Laboratories and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT), from a cooperation that started in May 2016, the technology can predict figures such as ship speed and fuel consumption.

    “If maritime companies can get an accurate handle on ship performance, including changes to ship speed and fuel consumption due to weather and ocean conditions, they can plot optimal ship courses in response to such conditions along the route (weather routing),”  Fujitsu explained.

The results of the trial showed that the technology is capable of estimating ship performance with an estimated margin of error under 1.5%, both on the ocean and near the coast, and in a variety of weather and wave conditions. With this technology, it is possible for operators to accurately predict ship courses that will reduce fuel consumption, leading to lower fuel costs.

Fujitsu Laboratories confirmed that this technology was highly accurate with estimating ship performance, through trials using operational data collected by TUMSAT’s small training vessels in Japanese waters.