Realising value from onboard data

Vessel owners are improving their ship maintenance through improved monitoring of onboard system performance, with real-time and packaged data from the main engines, diesel generators, boilers and emissions-abatement technology.

NYK Bulkship (Asia) operations director Capt K K Mukherjee explained some of the main benefits of deep-level sensor networks and condition monitoring during Riviera Maritime Media’s Extending intelligent monitoring of onboard machinery webinar, on 9 September.

He said shipowners and managers should invest in intelligent systems to understand the huge amount of hidden data in a ship. This should involve installing networks of sensors, if these are not already commissioned; centralising onboard data capture and processing, sending information over a secure virtual private network from the ship to the shore-based management office; plus data analytics for trend analysis and real-time monitoring.

“This can lead to data mining during inventory control and various optimisation of the onboard operations in relation to navigation or running machinery,” said Capt Mukherjee.

“You have to have an intention or mission to transform your digital resources and not to waste them,” he said.

Online and remote monitoring can be used for maintenance management, system optimisation, operational advice, reporting and spare parts management of some onboard systems, said Capt Mukherjee. The most common equipment monitored by ship operators are the main engines, diesel generators, boilers, scrubber systems, selective catalytic reaction (SCR) devices, voyage data recorders and vessel navigation aids. Capt Mukherjee said remote monitoring provides owners with early warning of issues and alerts if there are performance problems.

For example, NYK monitors main engine loads and revolutions. It watches fuel oil and cylinder oil consumption, exhaust gases and auxiliary blowers. This Japanese owner then monitors consumption and load sharing of the ship’s diesel generators and voyage information from the bridge.

“Cognitive maintenance is the only way forward. We are having serious problems with getting a complete crew on board”

Capt Mukherjee said the future for condition monitoring and cognitive maintenance will involve virtual reality and digital twins. These will help in repair and maintenance over a ship’s lifecycle and enable owners to identify areas that need action and improvement, he said.

Steel Ships chief executive Dr Ranjan Varghese explained during Riviera’s Vessel Optimisation Webinar Week why regular onboard system monitoring and deploying a maintenance decision support system were becoming more important as the global coronavirus pandemic limits travel between shore and ships.

“Cognitive maintenance is the only way forward. We are having serious problems with getting a complete crew on board,” Dr Varghese said.

Implementing the cognitive maintenance system is already producing results for Steel Ships. “We have increased availability and maintainability by 15%,” he said. “Failures have reduced by 30% and energy consumption by 6% to 10%. The reduction of spare parts consumption is between 7% to 15%.”

This all leads to operational expenditure reductions through optimisation and intelligence. “The ultimate goal is to keep the lifecycle cost of the vessel as low as possible. At the same time safety is not compromised,” said Dr Varghese. He noted how safety remained the most important element of shipping operations.

Data can be sourced from various sources on ships and used for different purposes, but this data needs to be processed and delivered to the correct people in a timely manner.

“There are tonnes of data coming from the vessel,” continued Dr Varghese, “all kinds of data for different parties, consumers, charterers, agents, owners and shipmanagers.”

He explained that to achieve fleetwide efficiency, all this data must be distilled properly. “It needs to be as easy to understand by the senior managers and the non-technical people as it is by the staff who are technically managing the ships.”

Published at Wed, 07 Oct 2020 08:15:00 +0000