Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, and Miotsukushi Analytics are pleased to announce that we have jointly developed a draft survey application. The application is designed to use artificial intelligence  to recognize the water surface and the draft mark from the image captured with a smartphone and to display the accurate draft level with the impact of waves removed on the screen to help accurately measure the draft*¹. At the end of July, the three companies jointly filed a patent application for this newly developed application.

The draft is measured to calculate the weight of cargo loaded onto dry bulk carriers. Today, it is done by crew members and surveyors using the naked eye. It is possible to survey the draft with the human eye. However, it is done at the anchorage, which in some ports may be susceptible to waves. There have been cases where draft measurements even by experienced maritime professionals display a greater margin of error than expected.

The jointly developed automatic draft survey application makes use of the “AI and data analysis service” offered by TIS and Miotsukushi and combines smartphones with the AI to supplement draft measurement that traditionally depended on the experience of maritime professionals with the AI. That helps equalize the degree of safety in navigation and cargo operations and maximize the cargo transportation volume.

At “K” LINE, digitalization is underway as a functional strategy for realizing the business strategy in the medium-term management plan*² announced in May 2022. With the use of data and digital technologies, “K” LINE will enhance the core values of safety, environmental conservation and quality in a bid to boost its competitiveness and corporate value.