Improving Voyage Efficiency in the Shipping 4.0 Decarbonization Era

The objective of this work is to pave the way toward a carbon-neutral and efficient operational blueprint for the waterborne sector, through the lens of the Industry 4.0 era. In this direction, we demonstrate a cutting-edge integrated ecosystem (ARTeMIS) for operational efficiency and environmental compliance and focus on the respective building block comprising the envisaged platform. ARTeMIS incorporates an IoT suite responsible for data acquisition, as well as a multi-purpose processing pipeline for CI/CD (continuous integration/deployment) of simulation models concerning operational optimization. In the context of this work, the proposed framework was adapted accordingly to capture, analyze and continuously predict the Fuel Oil Consumption (FOC), Effective HorsePower (EHP), Speed, and pollutant concentrations, of the vessel. Utilizing this streamlined procedure we are able to assess the scrubbing efficiency, as well as the environmental footprint of the vessel (CII - Carbon Intensity Indicator) in order to further optimize the vessel operation. Furthermore, the paper argues on how generic models like STEAM (Ship Traffic Emissions Assessment Method) should be transformed radically with the utilization of shipping 4.0 driven frameworks like the one proposed in the context of this work. Finally, the unleashed highly accurate prediction potential of the proposed system concerning operational efficiency, anomaly detection, and environmental compliance is demonstrated. The onboard proof of concept and the assimilated results so far, are also depicted to illustrate the feasibility and potential of the proposed approach.