How can digitalization be the answer to some of the big questions of our time? How can traditional industries benefit from starting their digital journey? And how can digitizing help shipowners improve their products, to better meet the customers’ needs and specifications? What does the end-user, the charterer, require now and in the future? That were some of the big questions we explored, when our Sea-to-Cloud tour made a stop in Ålesund, Norway.
We asked the leading Norwegian ocean and digitalization research institute, SINTEF, a newly digitalized shipowner, Island Offshore, an end-user and large player in the fishing industry, Mowi, and a representative for DNV, working on classing and cyber security, to join us on stage in Aalesund. Together with our experts, we challenged them to highlight different challenges and possibilities in the digitalization of the maritime industry. Here are some of the highlights:
Digitalizing towards NetZero!
While all of the speakers addressed digitalizing as a tool for effectively cutting fuel and greenhouse gas-emissions, Kongsberg Digtials´ Digital Ocean VP, Andreas Jagtøyen, challenged the idea that it was at all possible for the maritime industry to reach the IMO-goals and NetZero strategy. Reaching the goal will be almost impossible, but there is no way around it. Supranational and national authorities, organizations, financial institutions and industries in all sectors are introducing new policies and requirements, for large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The only way to operate is to meet the goals. And starting or accelerating the digital journey is a live or die for ship operators the coming years.
This was also emphasized by Kristian Voksøy Steinsvik from SINTEF, who showed how digitalization needs to be a part of every step from design to logistics in every corner of maritime operations. With the title “2030 is now!” he also underscored how the period of orientation and reorientation now is over, and we are way into a phase of action, where simulation, data processing and digital twins is and will be increasingly crucial.
Digitalizing is a step-by-step and never-ending journey
The project manager of digitalization in Island Offshore, Torbjørn Ingeborgvik, shared some of their experiences with digitization. He asked the audience, how much fuel will you use tomorrow, and explained how digitalization had taken Island Offshore one big step closer to answering that question. Resulting in better cost control and accurate predictions, enabling fine-tuning of competitive quotes and a better chance of winning some of the big contracts. Thus, being early in the game has become a competitive advantage for them.
While Island Offshore have taken many of the initial steps and are well into their digital journey, Mowi, as the charterer and thus end customer for many in the room, represents a different perspective. With the describing title, there’s something fishy about Excel, Arthur Vartdal Midtgaard, Vessel Manager at Mowi, demonstrated how Excel still is the number one tool for data collection and the vast potential for digitalization in the aquaculture industry. The level of digitalization and accessible data is a big differentiator for an actor like Mowi when it comes to choosing suppliers. In the panel discussion, we discussed how many ship owners have been reluctant to share data in the past and have been able to hide behind technical difficulties. Now Vessel Insight gives them the means, and some, like Island Offshore, have the will. Mowi shared some frustration that it has moved slowly, and strongly encouraged their suppliers to take this seriously as it will become a demand from customers soon.
Cyber security in an open digital infrastructure!
Kristian Kleiveland, Area Director Offshore for Kongsberg Digital, kicked off the Sea-To-Cloud event by demonstrating how KDI does things differently, and how former competitors are now trusted partners in the Vessel Insight infrastructure and Kognifai Marketplace ecosystem. However, to make this possible, cyber security is crucial. Kongsberg Digital is the very first vendor of vessel-to-cloud technology to receive a DNV certification for cybersecurity. As the last speaker on stage, Stener Stenersen Head of Department – Technical Support for DNV demonstrated how cyber security is the one thing making everything else possible.
Sea-to-cloud for a better tomorrow
The Sea-To-Cloud event in Ålesund demonstrated how digitalization and learning from each other can bring the world forward. With a thought timeline towards 2030 and 2050, we need to work fast and smart to maintain safety and competitiveness at sea while eliminating greenhouse gases. One of the main goals of Vessel Insight is to drive sustainability in the shipping industry by providing actionable insight from the analysis of operational vessel data. The consistent and standardized way of collecting data through Vessel Insight enables quality reporting, empowers transparency, and allows for in-depth analysis to optimize vessel and fleet performance. We believe in strong partnerships, where we open up and challenge each other for a better tomorrow.
We, working in Kongsberg Digital with Vessel Insight, know how much we all need the ocean, now and in the future. Therefore, it was a great pleasure to gift all attendees with an Ocean Bottle. Buying one bottle funds the collection of at least 1,000 plastic bottles in weight before they enter the ocean. It’s a small, but meaningful contribution, from people living off the ocean.
We hope we will see you again in Ålesund next year!
Learn more about vessel insight
Vessel Insight enables customers to unlock the value of their data in a simple and cost-effective way – giving them a competitive edge in our fast-paced digital world.
