Wärtsilä Smart Marine Ecosystem to Support Port-to-Port Fuel Efficiency

Wärtsilä says it intends to lead the transformation towards a Smart Marine Ecosystem. Image Credit: Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä Corporation (Wärtsilä) today said it intends to lead the industry's transformation towards a Smart Marine Ecosystem through the use of high levels of connectivity and digitalisation in order to address a number of inefficiencies, including port-to-port fuel efficiency.

"Marine industry players are faced with major sources of inefficiency that impose a significant negative impact on business operations and profitability," explained Wärtsilä.

"These inefficiencies can be considered as 'waste'; the three most notable sources of such waste being overcapacity, inadequate port-to-port fuel efficiency, and time wasted waiting when entering ports and other high traffic areas. Eliminating this waste forms the basis of Wärtsilä's strategy towards ecosystem thinking."

Wärtsilä says it sees four primary forces capable of re-shaping the industry, including shared capacity, which it says will improve fill rates and reduce unit costs, Big Data analytics, which will optimise operations and energy management, Intelligent Vessels to enable automated and optimised processes, and Smart ports for smoother and faster port operations.

"The world is moving towards a future that is more and more connected, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the shipping sector. The opportunities offered through smart technology will foster a new era of collaboration and knowledge sharing with customers, suppliers and partners," said Roger Holm, President of Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

In September, Wärtsilä said it had taken another important step towards developing its Smart Marine capabilities by successfully testing the remote control of ship operations from a distance of 8,000 km (5,000 miles) away.