Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) has signed a series of memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with Kongsberg Digital AS, RightShip and Wärtsilä Voyage Limited, to cooperate on the Maritime Artificial Intelligence (AI) R&D Programme.

Under this agreement, SMI and the industry partners will
• promote data-driven research and innovation in the maritime industry
• the industry partners will support SMI’s call for proposals under the Maritime AI R&D programme; to identify industry challenges that can be resolved through data-driven tools and applications and to avail relevant sanitised data to resolve the industry challenges.

The Maritime AI R&D Programme was established following recommendations from SMI’s International Advisory Panel (IAP) meeting which convened in March 2021. The programme hopes to address industry-wide gaps and concerns arising from increased use of automation and autonomy in the maritime industry such as data quality and integrity, systems security and integration and the need to build up talent for modelling, simulation and AI for the maritime domain. The programme also aims to develop new algorithms, tools and applications that can be utilised by the industry to enhance decision-making, support the drive towards sustainability and optimise operations.

Quotes:
Mr Tan Cheng Peng, Executive Director of SMI said, “The digital transformation of the maritime industry has accelerated in the last few years. With the vast amount of data available now, it is opportune for the industry to harness technologies such as big data analytics and artificial intelligence to further optimise operations and enhance productivity. The new Maritime AI R&D programme will help to support this transformation and I am glad to have like-minded partners, Kongsberg Digital AS, RightShip and Wärtsilä Voyage Limited, to come onboard the journey with us.”

Hege Skryseth, President, Kongsberg Digital said, “Digitising the maritime industry is becoming increasingly important to stay competitive while at the same time reduce emissions in shipping. Kongsberg Digital is honored to be recognised by SMI as a trusted and reliable partner, and we are excited to support SMI in the Maritime Artificial Intelligence R&D Programme. The foundation of digitalisation at scale starts with access to quality data, contextualisation and standardisation. Kongsberg Digital will through this program contribute with advice and competence. In addition, we will facilitate access to structured and contextualised data through our data infrastructure Vessel Insight and provide insight and
access to the Kognifai Services. Through our Kognifai Marketplace, SMI Cohorts can ultimately scale their applications and reach a bigger market. We are looking forward to contributing to this journey pushing the industry to a higher level of digitalisation.”

Steen Lund, RightShip CEO said: “The maritime industry is experiencing a tectonic shift, driven by the need to urgently decarbonise and unlock maximum efficiencies through digitalisation and innovation. SMI’s new Maritime AI R&D program comes at an opportune time, with us seeking to accelerate our industry contribution, primarily at our Singapore-based innovation hub. This MOU enables the maritime ecosystem to harness our expertise, which has been at the centre of maritime technology adoption since RightShip was founded 20 years ago. Our digital Platform built on robust cloud technology harnesses the power of data science and AI to deliver outcomes to support a maritime industry that causes zero harm. Our ambition is to collaborate with SMI and IHLs in Singapore to further accelerate adoption of ground-breaking research for the maritime industry in the domain of AI.”

Chris Chung, Director, Ecosystem Development at Wärtsilä Voyage, said “This MoU with SMI is a collaboration between strategic partners, academia, and innovation enablers. Maritime by nature expands borders and boundaries. We will collaborate to challenge algorithmic AI bias or ‘data bias’ and to ensure it is mitigated to drive impact beyond Singapore’s waters, and contribute to solving real world challenges globally.”