In a rapidly changing market, the case for digital optimization gets stronger daily. In the past year alone, we have seen supply chain shocks in the Black Sea, Red Sea, and Panama Canal, new carbon pricing regulations, and an increase in the incidence of machinery damage on an ageing fleet. While there can be no panacea for such a complex web of factors, there is little doubt that digital solutions can be deployed to minimize the impact of each.
At Accelleron, we go further. We believe that an integrated digital approach not only reduces the cost of supply disruption, vessel downtime, and emissions regulation; it allows operators to develop the strategies to actually thrive in these challenging conditions.
That is the rationale behind our most recent digital acquisition of True North Marine in 2023. Combining Accelleron’s engine, hull and propellor, and emissions optimization capabilities with True North Marine’s voyage optimization expertise gives us a uniquely powerful digital solution that does far more than improving operational efficiency. By adding consultancy based on our combined domain knowledge in seafaring, technical, and commercial operations, we deliver actionable insights that address shipping companies’ strategic goals.
Accelleron President, Digital Division, Cristian Corotto
The building blocks of efficiency
There are several important steps to implementing an integrated digital strategy, but the starting point is understanding the real performance of your vessels right now. In a scenario where many unknowns remain, focusing on what we can know is essential. Nothing should come before understanding and optimizing the baseline efficiency of your vessel and fleet. This is the only way that the impact of future investments, business decisions, and operational measures can be properly assessed, and deliver the most benefit.
A recent case calculation shows the outsized impact that a focus on efficiency – driven by nothing more than harnessing data to optimize ship performance – can have in a climate of growing compliance costs. With a 10% digital efficiency advantage, a 37,000 DWT chemical tanker on purely intra-EU voyages would save €72,000 in EU emissions costs (on top of the cost of fuel) in 2025. By 2030, that number rises to €183,000 a year.
Accelleron’s experience shows that such gains are not just theoretical. In early 2024, Korea Marine Transport Company Ship Management (KMTC) reported that it had saved US$540,000 in fuel costs in a single year, after installing Accelleron’s state-of-the-art digital engine optimization solution on twelve Panamax vessels.
There are further benefits to taking a fleet-wide approach, beyond simply optimizing engine performance on each vessel. One of India’s largest private ship owners, Great Eastern Shipping Company (GESCO), saved more than US$45,000 a day, per vessel, after enlisting Accelleron to digitize its previously manual fleet engine benchmarking program. By using a digital solution, GESCO could not only track its fleet performance, but also analyze individual engine data to identify specific problems faster. As a result, the pilot installation on two vessels was quickly extended to 46 more tankers and bulkers across the GESCO fleet.
Simplifying compliance
A good digital solution should not only track your fleet performance and emissions; it should also simplify compliance. Accelleron’s emissions module, for example, now allows for calculation and reporting of well-to-wake (WtW) emissions. Combined with the platform’s existing capabilities for tank-to-wake emissions reporting – which is used to report on emissions for the EU ETS as well as the IMO’s Data Collection System – the new WtW function enables ship operators to fully account for different types and sources of fuels. This is an essential part of any reporting solution for FuelEU Maritime, which came into effect at the start of this year.
With full insight of a vessel’s baseline efficiency and actual performance - particularly fuel use and emissions – operators can benefit from several other cost reduction measures that digital solutions afford. Accelleron’s solution, for example, can monitor hull and propeller fouling, providing recommendations for the best time to schedule hull cleaning, to reduce drag. It can also assemble and validate voyage reports, CII forecasts, and reports on emissions for a variety of regulators.
Securing the supply chain
Ensuring that vessels are running optimally is just one aspect of an efficient maritime business. The capability to plan and execute the most efficient voyages – and, based on that, organize the optimal use of the overall fleet – is equally important. And when confronting the challenges of today’s fragile, just-in-time global logistics networks, it is vital.
True North Marine’s voyage optimization and weather routing capabilities help secure the supply chain for some of the world’s biggest charterers. A prime example is Airbus, which has its own fleet of ro-ro carriers dedicated to delivering components from across Europe to assembly plants in Toulouse, France and Alabama in the US.
But even a company as big as Airbus can’t control the weather, and the volatile North Atlantic is a major potential source of production disruption. True North Marine has been working closely in the last several years with Airbus’ chosen shipping partner, LD Seaplane, to ensure that vessels make it to their destinations safely and within their respective schedules. While LD addresses the transportation challenges for Airbus, we help manage some of the unavoidable risks involved.
This is about more than software. Any supply chain hinges on effective communication between parties, and True North Marine has built strong relationships with a crucial link—the ship captains—to help LD Seaplane avoid delays. That human element is crucial, even when using intelligent digital systems, whether you are avoiding weather or troubleshooting engines.
A winning combination
Accelleron’s recent acquisition of True North Marine means we can combine the benefits of engine expertise, routing capabilities and all the domain knowledge that goes into using those systems in the best way.
As an example, Accelleron’s digital solutions can provide operators with an annual forecast of fuel cost and emissions for the next year based on anticipated fleet utilization. This provides the tools operators need to plan and budget for fuel, emissions, and operating costs. With these reports. they can calculate compliance balances and penalties in advance, enabling informed decisions on EU allowance purchasing, for example, or the pooling, borrowing or banking of FuelEU Maritime surpluses.
When you layer routing expertise on top of deep insights into vessel performance, you have the basis for long-term operational, commercial, and investment planning. But to translate this into truly effective decisions, human expertise is essential. At Accelleron, this is part-and-parcel of our digital offering. We bring deep domain expertise to technical and commercial operations, keeping in close communication with our clients as they use these digital insights.
With digital solutions spanning technical and commercial operations, Accelleron combines advanced technology with expert consultancy to maximize efficiency, enhance performance, reduce emissions, and increase profitability, all in one place. A simple, comprehensive solution that delivers efficiency, financial predictability, strategic insight—and a unique vision of how an integrated digital approach can drive value for ship operators.