Maersk Tankers launches digital spin-off ZeroNorth

A new digital company named ZeroNorth, a spin-off from Maersk Tankers, has been established, aiming to accelerate digitalization of shipping to address CO2 emissions and boost earnings.

The company is making available the software Optimise (previously known as SimBunker) to vessel owners and operators, to reduce bunker consumption by determining the optimal speed of each vessel using multiple data points, such as market rates, bunker prices, weather and individual vessel performance.

“This offers the twin benefit of reduced CO₂ emissions and increased earnings,” ZeroNorth said.

“The tramp shipping industry is bound to be reshaped and become more sustainable – and ZeroNorth is being established with exactly this aim in mind. As an independent company, it will be able to accelerate its strategy of using digitalisation to reduce CO₂ emissions to the benefit of the industry as a whole,” says Christian M. Ingerslev, Chairman of the Board at ZeroNorth and CEO at Maersk Tankers.

ZeroNorth currently has six customers and more than 300 vessels using Optimise. The company believes the potential exists to become an industry-wide platform for the global tanker and dry bulk fleet, which consists of more than 33,000 vessels. Optimise has been used by Maersk Tankers’ fleet since June 2019. In the first year of its use, it generated savings of $8 million.

“Slashing CO₂ emissions at the same time as making a positive impact on the bottom line is key to the industry’s future prosperity,” says Søren C. Meyer, CEO of ZeroNorth.

“We are going to market with a profound understanding of owners and operators’ needs, stemming from our 90 years of shipping heritage, which we are combining with the expertise of a technology start-up. If the global fleet adopts our software, we see the potential to cut 50 million metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions and increase the industry’s revenue by $12 billion over the next five years.”

The company employs 38 employees with backgrounds in mathematical modelling, software engineering, data science, data engineering and shipping. It is looking to increase the company’s size to up to 100 employees in the coming years and will develop more software products over time.

Currently, Maersk Tankers owns ZeroNorth, but it is looking to attract strategic investors from the tramp shipping industry to develop the company and its products.