Kongsberg secures bulk carrier digitalisation deal

Software solutions provider Kongsberg Digital (KDI) has secured a contract with transshipment company Rocktree to digitalise Supramax bulk carrier, RT Leo, through cloud data infrastructure solution Vessel Insight.

Under the contract, KDI will provide its Vessel Insight technology for the bulk carrier modified to an offshore floating terminal (OFT) to collect critical data for increasing efficiency and reducing emissions and operation costs of the vessel.

Rocktree plans to employ the solution to support its digitalization strategy of opening up a control centre for monitoring its global operations. Together with the Vessel Insight Customer Success team, the company intends to develop dashboards to measure cargo moved in tons/hour, fuel consumption, monitor emissions and benchmark its vessels.

As informed, many vessels in Rocktree’s fleet already use Kongsberg Maritime (KM) K-Chief & Autochief systems in addition to deck machinery and Tunnel Thrusters. With digital transformation using Vessel Insight across the fleet, the company expects to achieve product synergies resulting in greater savings through operational optimisation.

According to KDI, by subscribing to Vessel Insight, Rocktree will gain access to the Kognifai Marketplace, a network consisting of 3rd party software applications, that can be utilised by shipowners and operators to assist in becoming more sustainable and to gain a competitive edge in the industry.

Additionally, the contract also enables the transshipment company to utilise the Microsoft Certified Power BI connector and API’s to make tailored analytics.

The installation process of Vessel Insight onboard the bulk carrier RT Leo and its integration with KM’s K-Chief 500 was concluded during the dry dock in December, KDI informs.

Commenting on the contract, Andreas Jagtøyen, executive vice president at KDI, said: “Historically, the Bulk carrier segment has been a bit slow in terms of digitalization compared to tankers and offshore, so this is a healthy sign showcasing that digitalisation is beneficial for the entire shipping sector”.

“We fully understand the point of rapid transformation that the industry is under, and the demand to focus on increasing operational efficiencies to improve sustainability and the impact on the environment”, said Giovanni Colotto, head of fleet at Rocktree. (…) “The collaboration with Kongsberg will help us significantly to improving the sustainability of our operations, as well as our offering and services to our customers through the efficiency gains that we deliver”.

KDI’s Vessel Insight is a solution that provides vessel-to-cloud data infrastructure capturing enabling access to fleet overview, vessel-specific dashboards and data analysis tools.

Some of the companies that deploy the solution across their fleets are marine transportation services provider Olympic Subsea, US-based Dorian LPG, and Norwegian Island Offshore.