Delegates at The International e-Navigation Underway conference got to witness real-time vessel monitoring in action onboard the DFDS cruise ship 'Pearl Seaways' as it voyaged between Copenhagen and Oslo.

During the voyage, conference delegates could visit the bridge to see the Wärtsilä NACOS Platinum ECDISPILOT send the ship’s voyage plan to the VTS in Norway, using a Kongsberg system and to a shore centre in Sweden using a Saab system, and then receive current safety information back.

“As DFDS sees it, with EU’s single window being an example, we see a growing demand for digital solutions for shipping and for aligning digital communication,” said Niels Smedegaard, CEO and President, DFDS.

“But we are not there yet. In order to take full advantage of real-time exchange of data between authorities, service providers, ships and shipping companies we need a close cooperation between all those stakeholders.”

STM Validation

This year the conference ship ran as part of the EU-funded Sea Traffic Management (STM) Validation project using e-Navigation solutions.

The Pearl Seaways shares its voyage plan with shore actors using seamless machine-to-machine communication supported standardised information services (APIs).

The Wärtsilä system graphically receives a no-go area from the Baltic Navigational Warning service, and the Pearl Seaways adjusting the Voyage Plan accordingly.

Pearl Seaways also shares part of its current voyage plan with all other nearby ships over AIS. If the ships are STM-enabled they can see up to seven route segments of the vessel’s voyage plan.

This can help the crew to predict planned intentions of other ships, calculate meeting points, determine the closest point of approach (CPA), allowing it to identify and avoid close situations before they happen.

By Anne-Marie Causer