Ocean Analytics
What is Ocean Analytics in the Maritime Industry?
Ocean analytics refers to the systematic use of data analysis techniques to optimize various aspects of maritime shipping and logistics operations, including but not limited to ship movements, cargo, vessel characteristics, weather conditions, and compliance with international regulations.
The objective of these analytics can be diverse, ranging from ensuring maritime security to identifying illegal activities, such as smuggling, illegal fishing, or violations of environmental regulations. Ocean analytics can also help businesses in the shipping industry make better-informed decisions related to logistics, risk assessment, and compliance.
What are Some Practical Benefits of Ocean Analytics?
Ocean analytics offers various practical benefits that leverage big data to empower shipping professionals in making informed, real-time decisions for their shipments.
Ocean analytics introduces much-needed transparency into the complex world of shipping networks. Here’s how it brings transformative advantages to the shipping landscape:
- Real-time container tracking: effortlessly monitor the journey of containers. Whether they were loaded onto a ship, underwent a transshipment, or have reached their final destination port, real-time insights are at your fingertips.
- Accurate vessel tracking: the ability to predict estimated time of arrivals (ETAs) for ships is pivotal for efficient supply chains. By harnessing ocean analytics, shippers and buyers can reliably forecast when a vessel will arrive, enhancing operational planning.
- Optimized routes and schedules: by analyzing historical data and current conditions, ocean analytics identifies the most efficient routes and schedules for shipping vessels.
- Improved supply chain visibility: the movement of goods and materials from port to destination gains heightened clarity through ocean analytics. This enhanced visibility empowers better supply chain management and facilitates smoother operations.
Is Visibility Analytics Part of Ocean Analytics?
Ocean analytics relies on millions of data points covering the entire maritime industry. It includes weather and water-related data, data coming from ports, shipper information, and a host of other pieces of data.
For example, ocean analytics focuses on the natural and physical aspects of the ocean environment, such as weather conditions, currents, and wave heights. By analyzing these variables, shipping companies can optimize routes for fuel efficiency and speed, assess risks, and make real-time adjustments to routes to avoid storms or bad conditions.
Visibility analytics is a subsection of ocean analytics. It is primarily focused on vessels, informing stakeholders where the ship is on its route, its speed, and its expected arrival date. Visibility analytics is essential for supply chain optimization, inventory optimization, and ensuring timely deliveries.
It can also help in tracking performance metrics, compliance with shipping regulations, and identifying bottlenecks or inefficiencies in a shipping operation. These analytics are complementary and, when used together, offer a comprehensive approach to improving the complete ecosystem in maritime shipping operations.
How Ocean Analytics Data is Collected
The collection of ocean analytics data comes from a variety of sources and technologies. All the data is then combined to generate accurate and actionable reports. Here are some common data sources used:
- Satellite data: provides a wide view of the ocean, including information on sea surface temperature, wind speed, and currents.
- Data from ships: they transmit data on their location, speed, and other parameters to shore stations.
- Remote sensing technology: adding the Maritime AI™ platform and predictive analytics to remote sensing tipping and cueing can transform operations and decision-making processes.
Gathering this data to decide on a shipping route, or for real-time updates, can be both time-consuming and costly, requiring significant manpower. A more convenient and cost-effective alternative is a unified AI-driven system that integrates both ocean analytics and visibility analytics.
This integrated approach not only streamlines the decision-making process, but also enhances operational efficiency, making it a win-win solution for both cost reduction and improved performance in maritime activities.
