NAPA: Future green ships to be made of data just as much as steel

The sustainable ship of the future will be made of data just as much as steel, Mikko Kuosa, CEO of Finnish maritime software company NAPA, said in an interview with Offshore Energy.

Speaking about the role and impact of digital solutions on the shipping industry’s decarbonised future, Kuosa pointed out:

“There is no doubt that data will play a key role in driving shipping’s sustainability transition, by building bridges between design and operations.”

“On the one hand, 3D models used to design ships provide vessel-specific insights that can be harnessed to optimise operations at sea and choose optimal routes to reduce emissions. Meanwhile, real-life operational data is fed back to shipyards to help them understand how their models behave at sea and refine their designs to improve efficiency.”

According to NAPA CEO, the pace of digitalisation in the maritime industry is accelerating fast, although progress has so far been slower in shipping than in other industries. Today, as shipping faces unprecedented pressure to decarbonise, there is a growing realization that digitalisation and sustainability must go hand in hand – as data enables stakeholders to make smarter decisions with their assets and reduce their environmental footprint.

“In shipyards and at sea, we are already seeing a greater use of digital solutions; a sign of things to come as data plays an even bigger role in driving shipping’s sustainability transition.”

At sea, data-driven voyage optimisation is already adding value, enabling ship owners and operators to make the best possible use of each vessel by choosing optimal routes to reduce emissions and save fuel. This type of digitalisation also supports more efficient designs for the future fleet, as real-life information on performance at sea is fed back to shipyards to help them create even more energy-efficient vessels, Kuosa explained.

Moreover, efficiency, stability and safety data will be intrinsically linked going forward, where only a few years ago they were held in separate siloes. Highly connected ships will enable a more proactive approach to safety, where risks to stability – from routes and weather conditions to the number of doors left open – are constantly monitored.

However, if data is to fully deliver on its potential to solve shipping’s big challenges on safety, efficiency and sustainability, it will require a range of stakeholders – among shipyards, owners, engineers and crew – to fully embrace the range of solutions that are already available and can deliver immediate efficiency gains and emissions reductions, Kuosa stressed.

Therefore, the focus should be on openness in sharing data among different stakeholders for the greater good — advancing all aspects of the maritime industry.

The role of weather routing in cutting vessels’ emissions

Weather routing has attracted much attention among maritime stakeholders in recent years. In a nutshell, weather routing systems examine the forecasted weather conditions and propose optimal routes for ocean voyages, considering wind, wind waves and swell, sea currents, water depth, tropical storms, and additional safety limits.

Ship operators can achieve different goals by using weather routing solutions. When it comes to sustainability, one of the major benefits in the future will be compliance with environmental regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), such as the upcoming Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI).

“Simply put, weather routing helps vessels optimise their operations and reduce their emissions, which makes it a key measure to improve a vessel’s CII rating,” NAPA CEO noted.

“For example, in a recent retro-optimization study, we found that MR tankers achieved an average 15.9% emission savings with our NAPA Voyage Optimization software that helped adjust routes and speed profiles for a sample fleet. This shows the importance of seizing the opportunity to maximize operational efficiency through tools that are already at our disposal, including voyage optimisation.”

He went on further to explain that although weather routing does not directly impact EEXI, which is purely a technical index of the vessel design, weather data and vessel-specific models enable simulations of different technical scenarios of complying with EEXI and evaluations of their impact on real operations.

“We can simulate the effect of a reduction in engine power on operations, by showing the effect on speed and transportation capacity on the specific routes where the ship is operated. This helps shipowners make the best possible decisions on the technical options available for each vessel.”

As the deadline for shipping to comply with EEXI and CII regulations is getting closer, reducing emissions is a strategic priority for fleets around the world.

NAPA recently announced a partnership with Marubeni and ClassNK to evaluate what fuel and carbon emission savings could be achieved through voyage optimisation and compare adaptation strategies.

“By using our NAPA Fleet Intelligence platform, we can retrospectively analyze the performance across Marubeni’s fleet, compare it against similar fleets, and predict how well their vessels will be able to perform in the future with reduced propulsion power and remain competitive in the market from 2023 onwards when new EEXI and CII requirements enter into force,” Kuosa said.

“Investing in rigorous analysis at the outset will help Marubeni chart their course through the huge number of decisions that will be required to reduce emissions and remain competitive in the long term.”

Big data unlocking a world of efficiencies

Touching upon the topic of the use of big data in the maritime industry, NAPA CEO emphasized that big data can unlock “a world of efficiencies”.

“By improving operational efficiency and choosing optimal routes, vessels can minimize their fuel consumption and curb greenhouse gas emissions.”

For example, the company’s voyage optimisation solution provides captains and operators with visibility of the different possible routes and their impact on ETAs and fuel consumption.

Specifically, the software uses vessel-specific digital twins to simulate hundreds of possible voyages and calculates optimal routes and speed profiles depending on weather conditions as well as the ship’s specific profile, design, and operational needs.

“The shipping industry should not underestimate the impact of data-powered weather routing, both in terms of efficiency and emissions reductions. Based on our extensive modelling, we estimate that NAPA Voyage Optimization can cut fuel consumption and emissions by an average of 5-15%,” Mikko Kuosa informed.

This capacity to optimise operations for each vessel will be even more important in the future, as ships are becoming even more complex. No two ships are the same, and this will be even more true in the future, as alternative fuels and a broad range of clean technologies are deployed.

As shipping incorporates new fuels, wind power, batteries, automation and other new efficiency technologies, it will be essential for crew and shoreside teams to maintain situational awareness and a clear picture of a vessel’s digital systems to ensure safe and efficient operations. Optimisation of the world’s fleet will need to account for different technologies and vessel set-ups – therefore, digital solutions will be essential to make sense of all these systems and make the most of them, Kuosa continued.

Wind propulsion + voyage optimisation

As Offshore Energy reported last month, cleantech company Norsepower is offering NAPA Voyage Optimization to its Rotor Sail customers.

“Our partnership with Norsepower aims to maximize the benefits of wind propulsion by using voyage optimisation. Under the agreement, NAPA Voyage Optimization software will be included as an option in all future sales of Norsepower’s rotor sails solution, for retrofits as well as newbuilds. This will enable captains and ship managers to choose the optimal routes to catch optimal winds, so they can make the most of their rotor sail technology,” NAPA CEO elaborated.

“From extensive simulation with Norsepower’s specific solutions, we know that the combination of voyage optimisation and wind propulsion provides significant potential for increased performance compared to either of the two technologies alone. Advanced weather routing is essential for all ships, but it is particularly important for wind-assisted vessels.”

“Now that wind propulsion solutions are becoming a reality for a growing number of ocean-going vessels, we are taking this to the next level with voyage optimisation software which can fully model various cleantech solutions in all weather conditions, taking into account design data for each individual vessel,” he added.

3D models in shipping

NAPA is collaborating with class societies, including Bureau Veritas, ClassNK and DNV, to facilitate more effective and widespread use of 3D models in the class approval process.

In practice, the aim is to improve the overall efficiency and accuracy of future vessel designs and solve the current challenges associated with 2D drawings. While naval architects use 3D models to design ships, the assessment of these designs by classification societies to ensure they meet relevant safety and compliance specifications is done in 2D, hence the designs need to be translated into 2D and then back again into 3D. This process is not only time-consuming, but it also slows down communication between class societies and designers and can lead to errors.

“The outcome of our partnership with class societies is to enable class to perform its rule checks directly on the 3D model, which facilitates communication and information sharing, in addition to saving time and limiting the risk of error. We also work closely with class societies to develop the data links that are needed to enable the seamless flow of information between design and class approval software, reducing time spent on information transfer and enabling closer collaboration,” according to Kuosa.

“Crucially, 3D model-based approval is also key to unlock further innovation in the design process, by enabling designers to test and check ideas earlier in the process and explore a greater number of concepts. Looking to the future, including all data in a single, accurate model of a vessel is the first step on the way to developing true digital twin systems, which will become increasingly important as ships become more complex.”

Fostering synergies and collaborations

Collaborations are key to driving meaningful change, NAPA believes. Therefore, it is collaborating not only with commercial parties but also with fellow experts and academic bodies to further its knowledge of how digital solutions can support safety and sustainability.

At the end of 2019, the company partnered with industry leaders as part of the European Commission-funded FLARE project with the aim of increasing passenger ship safety. Since then, NAPA safety, damage stability and shipping experts have been involved in developing a new risk-based methodology to enable ‘live’ flooding risk assessment, as well as advanced methods to be used in a decision support system to maximize safety, in the event of a grounding accident.

What is more, last year NAPA joined the Clean Propulsion Technologies (CPT) project, a consortium led by the University of Vaasa that aims to develop new low-carbon solutions across global transport sectors.

NAPA’s role in CPT is to develop further methods to model and optimise total energy consumption, with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and therefore GHG emissions. Together with its consortium partners, NAPA is developing virtual models that account for non-conventional propulsion unit arrangements and the inclusion of important onboard energy consumers such as cruise vessels’ hotel load, or cargo warming or cooling systems.

“For example, we are developing an intelligent voyage planning tool that can anticipate the specific operational needs for cruise vessels and develop optimal energy management plans for the crew to implement,” Kuosa said.

NAPA plans to take the research beyond cruise ship operations. Some cargo ships, for example, use a significant amount of energy to warm or cool their cargo. By making the modelling wider in scope and more accessible, the overall energy efficiency of the shipping industry could be improved by approximately 10-20%. That would be a great environmental achievement and a significant step towards shipping’s net-zero by 2050 goal, Kuosa concluded.

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