Electronic reporting and shoreside connectivity will help boost the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of ferry operations between Finland and Sweden. 

 Finnlines, a leading operator of cargo and passenger vessels (ro-pax vessels) in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, has announced an agreement with NAPA, a global maritime software and data services expert, to install NAPA’s electronic logbooks for reporting, fleet monitoring and stability management solutions on two newbuild “Superstar-class” ro-pax vessels. The two highly sophisticated ro-pax vessels, which will use several energy-saving technologies, will operate between Finland and Sweden. 

NAPA’s next-generation digital solutions will harness the detailed, traceable data in the ships’ logs on all aspects of operations, and use it to generate valuable insights on safety, efficiency, compliance, and sustainability for the sister vessels Finnsirius and Finncanopus – thanks to enhanced data capturing and sharing between onboard and shoreside teams.  

Under the agreement, the two ships will be equipped with NAPA’s electronic logbooks, which will automate and streamline mandatory reporting and record-keeping required by the flag state and the IMO’s MARPOL and SOLAS conventions. This will help reduce the administrative burden for crews, save time and limit the risk of errors. 

The Finnsirius and Finncanopus will be the first ships under the Finnish flag to boast the new NAPA Logbook with cloud-based Fleet Intelligence modules, which enable seamless real-time data exchange between crew on board and Finnlines’ onshore organization. This operational data will be integrated and analyzed to identify opportunities for further optimization, supporting Finnlines’ commitment to sustainable and efficient operations. 

Furthermore, the two vessels will feature NAPA’s stability management solution, which is already used by the current Finnlines fleet. The software enables ship and shoreside teams to share and view all stability data, including loading conditions, stability margins, and watertight door status, in real time, thereby supporting a more proactive approach to voyage safety and planning.  

Built by the China Merchants Jinling shipyard, the two “Superstar class” vessels present greater capacity compared to other ro-pax ships in the fleet, carrying up to 1,100 passengers each and 5 200 lane meters cargo, as well as enhanced energy efficiency and environmental performance. Finnsirius is expected to be delivered in July 2023 and will enter operations in the autumn of 2023, while Finncanopus, is scheduled to begin operations by the end of the year.  

Pasi Väänänen, Technical Superintendent at Finnlines, said: “Our sea connections are a vital link between countries bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, bringing people together and supporting businesses and supply chains in the region. We are dedicated to meeting this important need for maritime transport as efficiently, safely, and sustainably as possible.  

“Proper data capturing and analysis onboard our vessels is an essential foundation for progress on all these aspects. We are proud to pursue our digital journey with NAPA, which will provide our teams with the data they need not only to ensure compliance, but also to further optimize our overall business operations moving forward.” 

Esa Henttinen, Executive Vice President for Safety Solutions at NAPA, said: “We are proud to partner with Finnlines, an industry leader with a long-standing commitment to sustainability, as they further strengthen their operations with enhanced data collection and sharing. This partnership is a tangible example of the new opportunities that shipping can unlock with its onboard operational data, with efficiencies that go beyond navigation and route optimization. Beyond mandatory reporting, this data can be integrated and analyzed to deliver insights that will inform actions to deliver more efficient and sustainable operations.” 

“More than reporting on results, greater data collection is also an opportunity to improve those results. By streamlining various reporting on technical, environmental, vessel discharge and waste management, including MARPOL, ESG, IMO DCS, EU MRV, and CII, we can monitor and boost efficiency on a wide range of operational factors, from fuel efficiency to waste management and safety, for example. This is why electronic reporting solutions are bound to play a key role in the decarbonization transition, helping companies harness their data for better decision-making.”