Danelec Marine - Experts & Thought Leaders

Globally renowned fleet optimisation provider and Lloyd’s Register subsidiary, i4 Insight, has joined forces with data collection pioneers, Danelec Marine (Danelec), to solve fleet performance challenges. This new industry partnership, which brings together specialists in data collection and data analysis, will mean customers can get a more cost-effective solution to vessel optimisation. i4 Insight - Danelec Marine partnership As the maritime sector deals with digital transformation and decarbonisation pressures, seafarers face increasingly complex and difficult industry challenges, and it appears that collaborative working may be the only way to create one accurate, comprehensive data source. Joel Meltzner, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of i4 Insight, said “Danelec are experts at accessing and collecting vessel data, they have equipment installed on thousands of vessels. Our new partnership now means that the Danelec data can be fed directly into our i4 fleet optimisation platform for AI analysis, without any further equipment being installed. We can use this data to provide accurate and actionable insights for ship owners and charterers to improve vessel performance.” Danelec Marine currently works with over 10,000 vessels and this will provide copious amounts of new data, which will be fed into the machine learning technology, in order to allow it to jump to the next level of intelligence. Quick and easy plug-and-play solution Partnering with i4 allows us to offer our customers a quick and easy plug-and-play solution" Casper Jensen, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Danelec, said “Partnering with i4 allows us to offer our customers a quick and easy plug-and-play solution, to utilise the navigational and engine room data collected onboard, to improve vessel efficiency, while reducing their carbon footprint, to comply with upcoming emission reduction regulations.” Captain John Horner, who heads up the i4 Insight Alliance, said “Our customers use the i4 Platform because they want one digital fleet performance platform and everything in one place. We pride ourselves on listening to customers and pushing the bar of innovation, so when we explored the possibility of Danelec joining the alliance, it made a lot of sense.” Leveraging the strengths from each partner The goal of the i4 Alliance programme is to leverage the strengths from each partner, so as to provide ship owners and charterers with more efficient and effective solutions centered around fleet management, vessel optimisation and decarbonisation strategies. Joel Meltzner explains, “The key concept of the i4 Alliance is not about simply adding unrelated partners, but instead building a network of providers that complement one another and, more importantly, help shipping companies solve complex problems. This approach allows us to bring new, innovative and integrated products and services to market very quickly, with the goal of exceeding our customers’ expectations.” i4 Insight i4 Insight operates as the fleet optimisation subsidiary of Lloyd’s Register’s Maritime Performance Services division and last year acquired market renowned artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning business, GreenSteam.

Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) manufacturer and maritime Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure provider Danelec Marine is highlighting a new version of its field-proven two-way communication Vessel Remote Server (VRS) at Posidonia (stand #1.562). Ready for delivery, VRS 003 is a cost-effective onboard data collection and processing solution connected to the DanelecConnect cloud platform where customers, OEMs, and application companies can develop operational efficiencies while improving safety and ensuring compliance. Features of VRS 003 Like the existing and established VRS 002, VRS 003 is a more robust, secure, and cost-effective alternative to data handling than often expensive and difficult to use customised Virtual Private Networks (VPN). VRS 003  can deliver the insight needed to optimise operations and minimise GHG emissions with targets to 2030 Ideal for fast installation aboard specialist vessels and fleets at the forefront of applying digitalisation to improve business and operational performance, VRS 003 ensures the availability and integrity of vessel data, which through analysis by powerful cloud-based applications can deliver the insight needed to optimise operations and minimise greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with stringent targets to 2030 and beyond. Performance monitoring Danelec’s new VRS variant accommodates more sensor data, extends VDR recording, and includes an integrated 3-axis motion sensor to support future use cases. Critically, it also enables developers to host applications locally, giving them greater control of customised services while mitigating the need to deal with onboard hardware, remote updates, backups, running first-party infrastructure, and dealing with data loss risks. By helping DanelecConnect application partners to better meet the specific performance monitoring and data analysis requirements of different customers, VRS 003 delivers more value to end-users that see data as a tool for transformation. Cost-effective generic data handling solution VRS 003 makes light work of sharing data from any sensors without the need for human intervention Danelec’s new VRS has been developed in response to market demands and is offered in addition to the VRS 002, the cost-effective generic data handling solution already installed on more than 2500 vessels. While providing more capacity for data from more sensors and being targeted at vessels with complex digital demands, VRS 003 retains the plug and play nature established by the original VRS; it sits neatly between the VDR and vessel communications system, ready to make light work of sharing data from any sensors or operational technology on board without the need for human intervention. Smart shipping methodologies “Leveraging smart shipping methodologies, where vessel and fleet data drives operational and business insight and decision making, is essential to reducing the environmental impact of the global shipping industry,” said Casper Jensen, CEO, of Danelec Marine. “Paired with the DanelecConnect cloud platform and growing application suite, VRS 003 supports this by providing the ability to integrate seamlessly in the most demanding vessel IoT environment, while simplifying workflows and reducing the cost of gaining insight from the data it manages.”

Danelec Marine is preparing to roll-out out a digital upgrade across a fleet of 100+ vessels, following an order placed in March 2022. The ships will be connected to the DanelecConnect Cloud platform where a carefully selected package of performance monitoring applications will unlock operational insight to reduce fuel consumption and enable the customer’s extensive decarbonisation strategy. As one of the largest single DanelecConnect projects undertaken by the Danish marine safety and digitalisation technology specialist, Danelec will work closely with its wholly-owned subsidiary KYMA AS, whose Shaft Power Meter will provide engine and bridge officers with vital propulsion data for more cost-effective ship handing with a lower carbon footprint. Greenhouse gas emissions Reflecting the collaboration focus of its cloud ecosystem, Danelec has also engaged DanelecConnect 3rd party solution partners to deliver further operational decision-making support based on a variety of parameters that when monitored and analysed correctly will contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across the fleet. One of these 3rd party application companies will take DanelecConnect managed data from the fleet One of these 3rd party application companies will take DanelecConnect managed data from the fleet, analyse and compare the information to operational data collected from other ships to help improve fleet efficiency, reduce fuel costs and lower CO2 emissions, in addition to supporting navigational and environmental compliance. Secure data transfer While end-customer value through data analysis and operational insight is delivered by the KYMA and 3rd party applications on DanelecConnect, Danelec’s low-cost Vessel Remote Server (VRS) will be installed on all vessels as the service agnostic link to the internet for dependable and secure data transfer to the cloud. “With pressure across the industry to reduce GHG emissions it’s vital that ship owners and managers place emphasis on digitalisation, but finding the right cost and performance balance can be challenging,” said Casper Jensen, CEO, Danelec.“This is why we developed a standardised approach that combines platform, a choice of applications and enabling hardware in a managed solution that can monitor and unlock insight on any kind of data generated on board, while being lower-cost and easier to roll-out than some more customised solutions,” concludes Jensen.