Helsinki, Finland and Limassol, Cyprus – 29 April 2019 – NAPA, the leading maritime software, services and data analysis provider and ChartWorld, the leading digital chart agent, have today announced their partnership to provide revolutionary artificial intelligence-driven voyage planning and optimisation.
Oliver Schwarz, ChartWorld’s Business Development Director, commented, “In today’s era of constant regulatory change and cost volatility, vessel efficiency and safety are more important than ever. Through the integration of ChartWorld’s industry-leading voyage planning with NAPA Fleet Intelligence, shipping’s most powerful software for optimised vessel operation, we have created a solution that reliably gives owners and operators the information they need to make the most cost effective and time efficient choices for their fleets.”
Schwarz continued, “With the adoption of ECDIS, voyage planning has become increasingly complex. Best-practice risk management requires ‘four eyes’ on voyage planning, with the master verifying the second mate’s plans. Onshore personnel can use the MyRouteAppraisal (MyRA) solution to pre-check onboard navigation planning for additional certainty, as well as comparing different route alternatives for the same voyage.”
The solution developed by NAPA and ChartWorld includes modules for evaluating the operational efficiency of past voyages, and then using this data to optimise the efficiency of future transits where there are similar variables and trends. Past voyages are automatically evaluated via datasets collected from ChartWorld’s route network to find improved routes the vessel could have taken. These voyages are also automatically analysed by NAPA’s algorithms for operational efficiency, taking into account wave conditions, weather, and other factors that affect the voyage.
Risto-Juhani Kariranta, Director of Services, Shipping Solutions at NAPA, commented, “As a former mariner I know all too well how laborious voyage planning can be even on a clear day with calm seas. Our partnership with ChartWorld provides a solution I could only dream of having available when I was on the bridge. Additionally, by using our AI-based algorithms operators are able to reduce the cost of each voyage, execute it more safely and with far less work for the crew onboard.”
Under this partnership, ChartWorld has signed a re-seller agreement with NAPA allowing for a range of NAPA services to be provided as an integral part of ChartWorld’s MyRouteAppraisal (MyRA) platform. MyRA, combined with NAPA’s vessel performance enhancements provides charterers, ship operators, and onboard personnel with a range of advanced tools related to voyage planning. Charterers, for example, will be able to evaluate the cost of voyages for different destinations with different schedules. They also can share these plans in real-time with ship operators and onboard crew.