Benefits include tracking of speed consumption data for improved charter party tender and monitoring of ship performance for energy-efficient ship operations

OAKLAND, CA - Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation and provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading organizations across the shipping supply chain, has introduced two new Bluetracker modules that offer benefits to ship owners, ship managers and charterers. The modules simplify the process of preparing tender descriptions of ships for time-charter agreements based on operational ship data. In addition, they facilitate the seamless tracking of ship performance data that is primarily involved in the voyage-by-voyage spot market in order to foster energy-efficient ship operations.

As part of the tendering process, the Charter Monitor can be used as an information exchange platform between the ship manager and charterer for ship particulars that contain accumulated performance data from running ship operations. Simple user management controls access for efficient collaboration between the inspection and chartering department of the ship owner as well as with the charterer.“Fleet and performance managers can use the improved availability of performance data from ongoing ship operations for the entire fleet in a number of different ways,” said Guy Rey-Herme, President of XVELA and Head of Maritime Solutions at Navis. “The Charter Monitor and Voyage Monitor modules are another step forward in our commitment to providing ship owners, ship managers and charterers with the tools they need to make data-driven decisions based on real time ship performance information, to further optimize operations and improve energy efficiency. The Bluetracker Charter Monitor module documents fuel consumption vs. speed and compares the operational performance values with those defined in the charter-party, while also considering weather factors. If deviations occur, an automatic warning function will alert the performance manager or superintendent to initiate corrective action to prevent unnecessarily high fuel consumption and potential speed claims.

Monitoring the impact of sailing practices on fuel consumption during a voyage is a key way to save fuel for ships that have been chartered, particularly on a voyage basis. This is the case for bulk carriers and tanker vessels. Based on a defined voyage distance and arrival time, the Bluetracker Voyage Monitor module documents a vessel’s operations on the basis of either constant speed, power or rpm.

The Voyage Monitor accounts for reported and sensor-driven ship data as well as weather factors. All data is automatically checked to determine their plausibility, consistency and completeness. A traffic-light system shows whether a ship is sailing within the voyage-specific tolerance corridor and is thus operating in an energy-efficient manner. If for instance, the ship’s estimated time of arrival changes, the corridor can be recalibrated during the voyage.

Performance managers and superintendents can configure voyage KPIs for analytical purposes and monitor the fuel-saving voyage practices.

“The industry needs a reliable, measurable foundation from a fleet’s data pool in order to produce automated evaluations with clear KPIs,” Rey-Herme said. “The comparability of data in terms of energy efficiency and emission compliance is a fundamental requirement – both for time charters and voyage charters.”

The latest software upgrade of Bluetracker One, Navis’s fleet performance management platform, also includes enhancements to the benchmark module and the Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator (EEOI) module. The benchmark module enables all ships to be compared and ranked on the basis of an individual score. This score is drawn from cumulative measurements of various performance criteria during a specific period of time. The EEOI module generates monthly EEOI reports for each ship. The EEOI scores of ships are ranked in accordance with specific company and ship-class greenhouse gas criteria.