Weathernews Inc (WNI), a leading weather intelligence company, has upgraded its OSR-e (Optimum Ship Routeing) and PMS-e (Performance Monitoring Service) sea-planning tools as part of its Total Fleet Management Service concept to support customers manage their emissions goals.

Both OSR-e and PSM-e update Weathernews’ existing OSR and PMS services incorporating additional Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and CO2 environmental content  embedded ship performance models.

It is understood that this strategy is to help fleet operators establish seamless emissions target management and reporting.

Supporting customers

In the words of Global Sales Leader Keemoon Kwon: ‘The shipping industry is in the process of a major transition. At a time of both economic and political uncertainty, and with environmental regulations bound to become increasingly strict in future, there are many moving parts to consider.

‘Having an effective PDCA [Plan, Do, Check, and Analyse] cycle in place is paramount to ensure continuous improvement and smarter operations. Our new service is designed to empower clients with best-in-class tools and highly granular data to achieve their own green agenda.’

The service’s overall value proposition is supporting customers’ work towards decarbonisation and managing both CII rating and CO2 targets.

Kwon added: ‘Combining our system with risk communications while enjoying the value provided from our legacy OSR and PMS services gives customers a cost-effective, one-stop service solution to enable optimized PDCA.’

Simplified cloud-based solution

OSR-e and PMS-e have been migrated into a single, cloud-based system making the platform simple to access and use.

Again, Kwon: ‘The system provides superior monitoring, providing the best real-time voyage routing matching customers’ business priorities while sending timely alerts when a vessel or vessels drift off their target CII rating or planned CO2 emissions.’

Leveraging Weathernews’ highly accurate weather, route and voyage data, and cutting-edge technology, the platform is backed up by meteorologists, risk communications experts and Voyage Planners on the ground in the company’s global operations centres.

Tested and proven in the field

The new service has been tested by key shipping clients, including international

open-hatch bulker operator Saga Welco AS.

Saga Welco Vessel Performance Manager Helge Røttingen commented: ‘Optimizing fleet performance while enhancing safety, efficiency and environmental responsiveness is key to ensuring successful and profitable operations. Weathernews’ new solution  is a user-friendly and empowering solution that will be a core part of our operational optimization efforts going forward.’

Proactively engaging customers

Weathernews is gearing up to present its new service to existing European clients at two Green Forums in Athens and Elsinore next month, designed to be part of an ongoing collaborative arena. The plan is also to roll out promotions that provide added-value benefits to existing customers in the region.

To return to Kwon who concluded by saying: ‘The forums will be primarily informative and educative occasions on our updated services while addressing the CII framework, how to improve vessel ratings and, not least, why forecast accuracy is so important, among other challenges.

‘Key elements will be open discussion and panel debates on the challenges customers are facing. Harvesting useful feedback on their concerns and wishes means we can refine and fine tune our solutions on an ongoing basis to add as much value as possible. Nobody can decarbonize in isolation; we all need to make the right choices together.’

About Weathernews

Weathernews Inc. (Head Office: Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi; CEO: Chihito Kusabiraki) was founded in 1986 and is one of the largest weather information companies in the world.

It started as a service supporting safe maritime operations aimed at shipping companies, and now provides weather information services around the clock, day in, day out year round to clients across 44 different markets in a total of 50 countries.

The company continues to take on new challenges with an innovative approach, such as developing its own original radar to pick up heavy rain and sudden strong winds, launching weather satellites to capture views of sea ice in the Arctic Sea, and making use of AI technology to achieve high- accuracy weather forecast.

 

Picture caption

Weathernews’ new service logo.