Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, has fast-tracked two innovative and established start-ups to Certified Application Providerstatus as part of this year’s ‘Decarbonising Shipping’ initiative run by venture developer Rainmaking.

The solutions, offered by VesselBot and PortXchange, have been accentuated by Rainmaking’s Trade and Transport Impact initiative which seeks to harness the power of start-ups and advanced technologies to meet UN targets on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

VesselBot’s ‘Voyage TCE Optimization Decision Support System’ software uses advanced AI models that draw on both market and vessel data to support operational decision-making and increase voyage profitability. In addition to providing speed and routing optimisation based on weather conditions, the solution offers bunker procurement recommendations using real time data and measures time charter equivalent (TCE) performance at prevailing hire rates.

PortXchange is a digital collaboration platform for sharing real-time operational data from all local parties involved in a port call, standardising it, and creating a ‘single point of truth’ for shipping lines, carriers, agents, terminals, and port authorities to monitor all activities before and during the call. This data can be used to optimise port call efficiency to reduce CO2 emissions. Started at the Port of Rotterdam, the PortXchange platform is now used in ports across Europe, the UK and US.

In signing up as CAP participants, the companies join a fast-growing group of digital innovators providing dedicated applications for Inmarsat’s IoT platform for Fleet Xpress: Fleet Data. The platform collects data from onboard sensors, pre-processes it and uploads it to a central cloud-based database equipped an Application Process Interface (API) that is accessible by an owner’s software or third-party applications.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Inmarsat and utilise their API’s to obtain High Frequency Operational and Technical data seamlessly and efficiently for our customers,” says Constantine Komodromos, CEO and Co-Founder, VesselBot. “We developed this product in the last two years in collaboration with some of our customers, utilising our deep expertise in both data science and the maritime market. It brings significant financial benefits, both in respect to TCE increases and connectivity cost reductions, as well as substantial environmental benefits regarding GHG emissions reduction.”

Captain Abhishek Nair, International Business Consultant, PortXchange, comments: “With Inmarsat, we have a great partner in establishing the ship-shore operational data sharing link. The IoT data gathered from Fleet Data can be used to optimise voyages and facilitate Just-In-Time arrivals. We also want to explore multi-party collaborations with Inmarsat and other application providers on the CAP network to add greater value to users in the maritime industry.”

“We believe these solutions will find ready audiences in the shipping market because both use digital innovation to meet the key industry challenge of decarbonisation,” says Marco Cristoforo Camporeale, Head of Digital Solutions, Inmarsat Maritime. “We are very proud that our CAP programme continues to provide the ecosystem for digital problem solvers to bring their solutions to market quickly and seamlessly.”