Feature 3 | VOYAGE OPTIMISATION


An insight into the benefits of performance management


StormGeo’s s-Suite solution drives fleet-wide fuel and cost benefits, but how does it aid the environmental performance of ships?


combines voyage planning and onboard route optimisation (s-Planner), route advisory services (s-Routing) and fleet performance management (s-Insight) onto one platform, providing a single source of data available to ship and shore operations that facilitates improvements in vessel performance (see TNA November 2020, pg 17). Madeleine Engelhardt, StormGeo’s


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Product Manager for s-Insight, tells Te Naval Architect more about the module’s holistic role: “s-Insight provides the tools for assessing commercial, technical and operational performance to reveal potentials for improvement; it’s a powerful application to ensure operational safety, reliability of service and proof of fuel performance, which goes in line with (GHG) emissions reduction.” s-Insight has a range of capabilities;


generating reports to share with shipboard management, creating speed and consumption curves by considering wind force, swell and wind direction, verifying fuel savings from retrofit measures, setting actionable KPIs, and more. But Engelhardt specifically highlights that s-Insight provides a comprehensive view integrating voyage, hull and propeller, engine and systems performance to identify cost saving measures and emissions reductions, such as scheduling vessel maintenance or replacing onboard equipment with new models. She adds that s-Insight is also able to


spot ongoing issues and deficits that might otherwise go unnoticed: “We recently had an event where the shaſt generator, driven by the main generator to support and supply power to the mains, was broken and nobody realised. Consequently, the auxiliary engine was burning an additional 2tonnes of fuel (daily) over a period of nine months. “This resulted in an added fuel


consumption of 540tonnes, equalling 1,620tonnes of additional CO2


16 emitted into


aunched last year by Norwegian weather intelligence specialist StormGeo,


the s-Suite solution


stresses, as many companies have staff that lack performance management experience or time to properly coordinate. In this regard, the company’s Fleet Performance Center in Hamburg provides a full scope of expertise and advice: “Tey actively train clients, it doesn’t matter if these are crews, operators or technical superintendents, and what’s very important is there is always a regular follow up in order to drive continuous improvement,” Engelhardt says. Part of the challenge for the existing


Madeleine Engelhardt, StormGeo’s Product Manager for s-Insight


the atmosphere, and US$216,000 in fuel costs. Tese are little cases which can be easily revealed by the soſtware, so you can save a lot of money and also cut emissions.” Successful integration of voyage


optimisation and fleet decision support soſtware relies on interactive communication between ship and shore, as Engelhardt points out: “While you have this good interaction, you also have an increasing value of the ship because it’s operating economically.” s-Insight supports this by providing a


framework to identify and establish best practise related to efficient ship operation, offering advice to help owners manage ship performance and drive continuous improvement,


and assisting crew to


understand the impact of measures. “Te crew have to get a sense that their work creates a valuable contribution, reflected in how shore management processes the data and what action is derived from what the crew provides, so that they receive clear feedback. In the end, it’s all about awareness, capabilities and commitment from people onboard, but also onshore, to realise fuel savings,” Engelhardt explains. Training is also an essential part of integrating solutions such as s-Suite, she


and future shipping fleet is complying with emerging environmental initiatives and climate alignment regulations, and Engelhardt comments that s-Insight simplifies this compliance process and reduces the associated workload: “In terms of supporting shipping companies, we provide the respective framework and tools with which you can validate reported data, calculate your climate alignment and populate requested documents and forms that are in line with an initiative. For


regulatory requirements, this is


pre-populated already from our experience and expertise, reducing the workload on their (client) side.” StormGeo has an overall vision of keeping


vessels compliant with the mandatory EU MRV and IMO DCS regulations and also actively supporting the Sea Cargo Charter, ESI, CSI and CCWG initiatives. To this end, Engelhardt comments that


the company ensures technical correctness and visible workflows when making climate alignment calculations for vessels. Not only because this enables clients to feasibly provide given values in a timely and reliable manner, but also as the results will inform future decarbonisation expectations: “For calculating climate alignment for


shipping companies, and also from an administrative or governmental point of view, we ensure that the data is reliable and reflects real operations because, based on these, new requirements will be derived and trajectory values are set for the future.” NA


Green Shipping January 2021

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