ABB has launched a new functionality for the ABB Ability Marine Advisory System - OCTOPUS, designed to help ships carrying heavy and over-dimensional project cargoes to be more fuel efficient and safer.
The latest addition to the OCTOPUS portfolio will help shipping lines operating project cargo carriers to estimate the expected forces that the cargo will encounter in transit – without the need to preconfigure the system for each new project, said ABB.
According to the Switzerland-headquartered technology company, the functionality allows shipowners with lesser in-house engineering capabilities to cut costs on configuring the system, while delivering the same high-quality motion forecasts as the traditional OCTOPUS setup.
Taking the estimated vessel responses into account will increase the safety for crew and cargo, allow for fuel savings and provide more reliable estimated times of arrival, added ABB.
A motion sensor installed on the bridge will allow for insight into the pitch and roll motions of the vessel (rotation of a vessel about its axes), as well as into its velocities and accelerations. This data will help the crew assess the potential impact of these conditions on the cargo and take necessary measures.
All the key parameters will be available in real time on a single screen. In the event of a threshold being exceeded, an alarm will be displayed.
“Our tailored offering for the project cargo segment reflects our commitment to working closely with the customers,” said Juha Koskela, managing director of ABB Marine and Ports. “Taking customer feedback on board, we have developed this tailored ABB Ability functionality to meet the needs of the project cargo vessel owners across the globe and help them achieve higher levels of operational efficiency.”
