Weather routing has already been widely adopted by the shipping industry as one of many measures to reduce carbon footprints and combat the negative impact of shipping on the environment. A leading global provider of weather data for voyage optimization, ABB Marine & Ports recently expanded its portfolio by completing the acquisition of DTN’s weather routing business for shipping, and now caters to more than 15,000 vessels globally. New applications include ABB Ability™ Ship Performance Optimization System (SPOS), ABB Ability™ Routeguard -Onshore Routing Service, ABB Ability™ Fleetguard -Vessel and Weather Monitoring, and, most recently, Optimal Speed Routing. The vessel and weather monitoring APIs (Application Programing Interfaces) enabling integration with third-party platforms, were also part of the transaction.

Providing a snapshot of uptake by shipping companies in the APAC region, Esmond Yong says that in a recent survey conducted by ABB Marine & Ports, 91 percent of respondents absolutely agreed that weather data is necessary, but it seems few capitalize on the power of integrated data. "Furthermore, only two out of three shipping companies actually feed weather data into their systems, and of those only 10 percent have fully integrated data for use cases where weather data is required. However, we clearly see that recent International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations such as the Carbon Intensity Index (CII) and decarbonization agendas are accelerating the adoption of integrated weather data to support business-critical decision making," Yong notes.

All three interviewees agree that typically shipping companies in APAC – although not all, of course – are not as quick to adopt new technologies as their Western counterparts. "One example is when satellite communications first became available, Scandinavian and European shipping companies were the first adopters, followed by Asian companies some years later," says Yong. "We see the same general trend in decarbonization, with European companies moving faster given the inclusion, for example, of shipping in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme [ETS]. However, China and the bigger trade partners in Asia are implementing, for example, the IMO fuel data collection system (DCS)1 within their waters, which is very positive."

Capt. Kevin Knott notes that, historically, shipowners everywhere have tended to be very conservative when it comes to embracing new technology and digitalization, until regulations force the issue. "In the case of weather routing services, certainly when I was at sea back in the 70's, 80's and 90’s and before satellite communications, weather routing was viewed with a degree of caution, and justifiably so in some cases because of inaccurate data. A master, for example, may have been sceptical because they may have felt they knew more, based on their long experience. And there probably were instances where ships being weather routed found themselves in a worse situation than if they had depended on the master's knowledge and skill."

However, he adds that "with the latest forecasting technology, the availability, accuracy, and frequency of the data is exceptional, so it's a great tool for routing and voyage optimization. The primary objective for BW LPG is and always will be safety – of the crew, the ship, and the cargo – but with the additional benefits of just-in-time arrival in port, operational efficiencies, and emissions reduction. Fortunately, BW LPG has always been a first-mover. We recognized quite a few years ago that weather routing is a very viable, cost-efficient, and, as it's turning out, environmentally positive decision."

"Only two out of three shipping companies actually feed weather data into their systems, and of those only 10 percent have fully integrated data for use cases where weather data is required."

Although the results may be subjective, BW LPG's many different trials of weather-routed single voyages have shown that, depending on the time of year, fuel savings of up to 5~7 percent are achievable. "I'm comfortable stating that in the years we've been using ABB Routing Services, and before that DTN and MeteoGroup, we have seen some very promising results with regards to fleet annual fuel savings," Knott says.

He also likes to call ABB Routing Services 'traditional' weather routing in as much as there is still human interaction between ABB's route a

lnalysts and BW LPG's masters, second officers, and deck officers. "It's by no means a passive process. They can always pick their own route if they have good reason, but they certainly understand the benefits."

BW LPG also uses ABB Routing Services' post voyage analysis for continuous improvement. "We try to optimize all our voyages in terms of increasing or decreasing speed depending on the weather conditions underway and the predicted conditions for the days in advance. This allows the ship to complete the voyage in the most fuel-efficient way and maintain or hopefully even improve its CII rating," says Knott. "Sometimes we see different results from similar ships doing similar voyages at similar times. They aren't huge but it does point to the human factor; for whatever reason the master, chief engineer or other officers are technically operating the ship in slightly different ways. Obviously if the gap was big, we would have to investigate further."

BW LPG has also been instrumental in suggesting new functionality. "After each voyage, in addition to a post voyage analysis, we also receive a savings report. Each quarter we present to our Board theoretical savings utilizing weather routing services. The savings report is very useful as it justifies using the service," Knott says.

"We see a general trend in decarbonization, with European companies moving faster given the inclusion, for example, of shipping in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme."

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Jacob Lundholm on mail: jacob.lundholm@dk.abb.com or mobil phone: +45 2070 6195

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