Wallenius Wilhelmsen becomes the first shipping company in the world to apply a comprehensive AI-based solution to optimize the voyages of its ships. This will reduce fuel consumption by up to 10%. “This is an important step towards zero gas emissions,” said Geir Fagerheim, Senior Vice President Marine Operations at Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen has set ambitious targets to reduce emissions by 27.5% by 2030. “Part of this reduction should be provided by existing courts. We are working hard to find environmentally friendly solutions for our existing fleet. This partnership is one of those that will help us reach our goal. We are committed to integrating a next generation flight optimization solution to improve the performance of our fleet,” he said.

For the past 18 months, the company has been working with Athens-based Greek tech company DeepSea to test and further develop the performance of the software on the ships. DeepSea is made up of AI researchers, engineers and industry experts with expertise in using machine learning and AI technologies to make the shipping industry much more efficient.

Over the past three years, the company has made significant investments in IT infrastructure and cloud technology, and has also worked on the use of sensors on ships to provide data that will be associated with reduced fuel consumption. These sensors monitor parameters such as fuel consumption, speed, electricity consumption and more. “Now we can get this data in the cloud and then run it through a complex mathematical model with artificial intelligence technology like DeepSea, which ultimately gives very informative indications of the optimal course and speed of the ship. These tools provide the most accurate information about traffic conditions when they correlate with weather forecast updates,” says Fagerheim.

We are very pleased to work with Wallenius Wilhelmsen. Not only are we becoming a key part of Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s decarbonization strategy, but we are also working with professionals who really want to do their part to reduce fuel consumption, thereby promoting a greener shipping industry as a whole,” added Roberto Custas, CEO of DeepSea.