An AI-powered Smart Routing Engine predicts the most fuel-efficient route for the ship.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (TYO: 9104), one of the largest shipping companies in the world, has an operational fleet of approximately 800 ships. Since 2019, Mitsui has been collaborating with Silicon Valley-based Bearing.ai, an Artificial Intelligence technology startup, on improving shipping efficiencies. The partnership used Mitsui’s maritime expertise and Bearing’s AI technology to develop, among other products, an AI-powered Smart Routing Engine for ships. (The Maritime Executive)

The AI-powered Smart Routing Engine

The routing engine developed by Mitsui and Bearing analyses various route options for the ship to take. It then identifies the most efficient and prudent routing considering main engine output and propeller RPM profiles.

To generate this result, Bearing.ai uses highly-accurate ship performance models built off of a diverse set of real-world data points.

These models work with additional inputs. This includes historical voyage data for the ship such as its vessel speed, trim, and main engine operation; the weather; and sea conditions. Bearing.ai is then in a position to forecast metrics like fuel consumption with state-of-the-art accuracy even without vessels’ design parameters.

Bearing.ai says on its website that currently, its product is in closed Beta and only open to early partners.

“Net Zero” by 2030

“The global shipping industry has been challenged to further enhance energy efficiency and develop measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships in a manner that will phase them out in this century,” Mitsui said in a statement.

“The MOL Group is one of the world’s leading multi-modal transport entities that is committed to achieving sustainable “Net Zero GHG Emissions” through collective efforts by 2030.”

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