Joanna James
The shipping industry has been a bold player in cargo transportation over the centuries. Carrying 80% of global trade at present, its greenhouse gas emissions are at 3%. Discover the trends and technological advancements that will shape the industry's future to remain ahead of the evolving changes.
Shortage of labour and safety requirements in the marine environment are constant issues. Warehousing companies in Sri Lanka are addressing these issues by developing maritime robotics solutions with AI and advanced hardware.
Robots specially developed for maritime maintenance, rescue, cleaning and inspection are becoming common. These cover automated robots fitted with specialized hardware systems and arms for underwater maintenance tasks. Robots and vehicles provide help in search and rescue operations and underwater repairs.
Drones are used at ports and on ships for inspections etc. These robotics fill the labour shortage and reduce human exposure to hazardous conditions during inspection and maintenance. They also gather crucial data on ocean health thereby assisting in the ocean conservation efforts.
AI is widely deployed in the shipping industry such as for predictive maintenance, safety, route optimization and autonomous navigation. AI plays a key role in the logistics and warehousing operations of companies such as McLarens Sri Lanka with sensor data processing, asset tracking and public information systems. The industry can leverage this data and information for forecasting accuracy and to bring about optimization of operational and maintenance costs.
An example of this is distributing cargo between scores of vessels passing through ports and avoiding traffic by leveraging AI tools. AI-powered digital twins provide consistent monitoring of ships, fleets, and ports through which vessel and port management is made easier. Risk Management is also facilitated by AI through analysis of historical accident data.
Data Analytics help check information coming from large operation systems such as ports and ships. The crucial information about container type, weight, and destination as well as the data related to the ship can be derived from predictive analytics. These provide a lot of ease in data-driven decision-making helping safe and efficient operations and handling.
In the case of large vessels like ships, Big Data can generate historical trends and ocean conditions to make decisions as these vessels respond to various weather conditions. By analysis of diverse parameters, making informed decisions are possible to improve performance.
Working with a GPS and cloud-based database that stores all data collected by devices on the ship IoT can connect all other devices and shipments (like robots) through wireless networks.
Present and depended upon by many industries at present, AR is heavily used by seafarers and Maritime Training Institutes.
AR helps in maintenance by way of vessel inspection and efficient process of maintenance. The help of AR software, apps, associated hardware and tools facilitates enhanced visualizing of vessel inspections. It is also used in shipbuilding processes.
Using a diverse mix of technology including but not limited to cameras, sensors and advanced algorithms, the Autonomous Ships will be like smart cars. They will be able to navigate without human intervention. Aside from cost savings these autonomous technologies are set to provide safety, reduced fuel consumption and routing and scheduling optimization making a revolution in maritime transportation.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
