An OrbComm satellite provides AIS communications to shipping (source: Orbcomm)
Remote vessel tracking can play an immediate, cost-effective role in identifying fleet inefficiencies causing unnecessary pollution
When attempting to improve efficiencies across a fleet of ships, the importance of gathering accurate data from vessels and analysing that data for insights into fleetwide environmental performance cannot be overlooked, according to Orbcomm vice president and general manager for container and port solutions Al Tama.
Mr Tama said high-resolution vessel tracking can do both: enabling owners to benchmark fleet performance and improve environmental social and governance (ESG) reporting.
“Critical to formulating a plan is data gathering and benchmarking fleetwide emissions,” said Mr Tama.
“Not only would this give operators a benchmark against which to measure progress, but it will also increase transparency for ESG reporting – an aspect many shipowners and financing bodies now have on their radar – [as well as] reporting to national regulatory agencies.”
“It is vital the maritime industry adopts a holistic approach to sustainability,” he said. “There is significant value in assisting older vessels to operate more efficiently than to prematurely send them to be recycled; after all, building new vessels and taking apart older ships creates more carbon emissions.”
However, this data gathering and reporting would be ineffective if operators did not have accesss to accurate data on the position and direction ships were heading, information provided by the Automatic Identification System (AIS) datastreams that are tracked by satellites such as those owned by Orbcomm.
“Remote vessel tracking is an optimal means to gather relevant information about individual ships and the global fleet,” said Mr Tama. “Asset tracking plays a key role in shipping but can also help limit an operator’s carbon footprint by helping to ensure shipping lines are efficient.”
Most shipowners, operators and managers are looking for solutions to lower their emissions as the shipping industry comes under pressure to reduce its environmental footprint. But the number of assets that large shipping lines need to track, monitor and manage makes access to data analysis that can be used to improve fleet utilisation and route planning even more valuable.
“By knowing where ships are at all times, whether on the sea or, as we have recently seen, stuck in port, shipping lines can send the closest ship to an identified destination, reducing unnecessary travel and generating a smaller carbon footprint,” said Mr Tama.
“This lowers greenhouse emissions and cuts fuel spend while improving overall fleet productivity.”
