ABB helps Maersk better define adverse weather route impacts

More than 100 Maersk Line ships will be outfitted with technology that helps determine weather and sea conditions on specific vessels, helping the carrier optimize its routes.    The European power and automation company ABB said Monday it is equipping 140 Maersk Line containerships with software designed to optimize routes, boost maritime safety and protect cargo based on factors including the hull design and weather.
   The project, which ABB is implementing with Dutch weather forecasting provider MeteoGroup, involves ABB’s Octopus motion-monitoring, forecasting and decision-support software, which is intended to improve vessel availability and safety, and a plug-in from MeteoGroup.
   The monitoring system is intended to enable captains to define on-board loading conditions, and more accurately determine areas of the ocean where their ship’s motion is likely to exceed threshold values. Routes can then be optimized automatically to skirt adverse conditions.
   ABB’s Octopus advisory suite, which is also deployed aboard liquefied natural gas tankers and the world’s biggest cruise ships, includes a three-dimensional hydrodynamic database for each individual hull type. The routing advice is tailored to the individual vessel because it takes into account not only environmental conditions such as wind, currents and swell, but also the effect these changing conditions may have on the ship’s behavior, ABB said.