MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has introduced the Breakbulk Optimiser cargo stowage solution, which enables ship operators to optimally plan the stowage of a variety of cargoes.
The application optimises breakbulk vessel stowage plans by taking into consideration a variety of factors including what cargo is already on board; incoming cargoes; available cargo space; the capability of the cargo handling system; port rotations; and vessel stability.
According to MacGregor the use of this system has the ability to significantly increases vessel utilisation rates.
The application was developed in cooperation with terminal operating systems provider Navis, also part of Cargotec.
"The MacGregor Breakbulk Optimiser is the first automated, cloud-based application for the optimised stowage of breakbulk and general cargoes," said Magnus Sjöberg, senior vice president, cargo handling, MacGregor. "It makes full use of MacGregor's expertise in cargo handling systems combined with Navis' expertise in loading computers and stowage planning know-how on container ships.”
Tommi Keskilohko, director of customer innovations, Cargo Handling, at MacGregor, added: “The new solution can easily accommodate last-minute changes and enables customers to identify predefined key performance indicators at a ship, voyage, rotation or fleet level.
“Also there are a lot of potential process improvements," continued Keskilohko. “Time savings in planning processes and the transparency of fact-based information are just a few of these. Reduced environmental impact is another, as vessels are running at much higher utilisation rates.”
The Breakbulk Optimiser is available for new and existing vessels, and can be used for one vessel or an entire fleet.
