With the introduction of NavFleet, the global market leader for e-navigation, NAVTOR, has announced a bold step towards fleet management and performance optimization. The groundbreaking application, developed over the past two years in collaboration with key shipowners, opens up a new horizon of possibilities for users – it enables real-time operational insights, performance optimization and improved business decisions. According to Tor Svanes, CEO of NAVTOR, the product heralds a “future of efficiency, performance, intelligence and cost control” for owners of all sizes and segments.
NAVTOR has made a name for itself by developing a range of innovative e-navigation products that are deployed, updated and connected via a cyber-secure ecosystem that unites coastal and marine teams. This provides the platform for NavFleet, which seamlessly integrates real-time data from ships, fleets, offices and a range of business-critical sources into a single, easy-to-use application on land.
The result is complete, shared situational awareness with the ability to continuously monitor and refine ship performance. Or, as Svanes says, “complete control”.
Advantages for the overall picture
He explains, “Our mission with electronic navigation has always been to simplify operational tasks while improving efficiency, safety and business performance. This may be a new arena for NAVTOR, but it is based on the same principles and uses our proven technology, infrastructure and expertise to provide tremendous benefits to shipowners aiming at improved ship management.
“With our Cyber-Secure-certified gateway, NavBox and cloud computing resources, remote teams can work as a unit and access data relating to ship sensors, weather, passage planning, route optimization, engines and fuel consumption in real time. In this way, users have a simplified user interface that connects everything so that they can see the big picture instead of collecting and analyzing individual data streams in isolation. This allows for smarter shipping for everyone … and the benefits of that are almost limitless. “
Just better
Optimizing performance is a major selling point for NavFleet. It offers the opportunity to evaluate best practices for all fleets, to fix, refine and exchange errors and to solve individual ship problems at the same time. For example, if a team on land knew what speed should produce a speed of 10 knots in good weather conditions, the ship’s engines could be adjusted accordingly and the current speed monitored. If the speed is not as expected, a hull performance issue can be identified where bio-fouling creates frictional drag, degrades performance, and affects fuel economy and efficiency. NavFleet would provide this insight.
But, Svanes notes, this is really just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to simplified reporting and management, the new awareness also enables easier compliance and the ability to automate important reports. This includes the mandatory EU-MRV / IMO-DCS reports, which can be created at the push of a button from the end of 2021. With a new approach to handling operational reports, reports (e.g. midday reports) can be sent directly from ships but accessed from anywhere through the application.
In addition, NavFleet’s real-time monitoring capabilities help office-based teams determine if ships are not meeting KPIs or deviating from transit plans, enabling quick remedial action. This ability makes it easier for owners to adhere to the agreements set out in charter party agreements, potentially avoiding benefit claims and strengthening working relationships.
Future of intelligent shipping
“We’ve listened to our customers and officials on the thousands of ships we service and developed a solution to help them meet some of their most pressing everyday challenges,” Svanes concludes. “It’s powerful, flexible, and will constantly evolve as we develop new features and improvements to meet the changing needs of this dynamic industry.
“We see this as a natural evolution for NAVTOR and as another means of translating some of the key benefits we have brought to electronic navigation into the context of overall fleet and business management. This is a new chapter for our company and we believe it is an essential application to enable smarter, more sustainable and more profitable shipping organizations. “
NAVTOR was opened in 2011 in Egersund, Norway and has since developed into the world’s leading provider of innovative e-navigation solutions. The company now operates a global network of eight full-time offices and has more than 20 international distributors. The company currently has customers in over 60 countries from all shipping segments with products and services on board around 7,000 individual ships.
Source: NAVTOR
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