Marfle disembarks in Norway
Scandinavian country is renowned for its breath-taking nature with deep blue fjords, harsh weather conditions in North Sea and proud maritime industry dating back to Vikings. We are delighted to announce our first contract in Norway got underway with Buksér og Berging. The company is responsible of sea transport of Norwegian pilots in addition to a broad range of activities from offshore support to towage since 1913. Their experienced skippers ensure transportion of pilots to big vessels for their safe navigation into or out of ports through country’s stunning scenery. They chose Marfle to leverage power of fleet analytics to maximize high quality of their services. We are extremely excited with this collaboration and our presence in Norway.
BuBe fleet managers were quite interested in fuel performance analyses of Marfle Fleet Analytics in addition to other features like driving style analyses and engine alerts. After a successful fuel performance analyses of two Finnpilot vessels, fleet managers wanted to test Marfle Fleet Analytics on one of their new vessels. The new pilot boat, Los 134, was built by Finnish shipyard Kewatec and equipped with Volvo Penta IPS 900 engines. We installed first data loggers in Kokkola shipyard in December 2018. Our close relationship with Kewatec shipyard helped us make a quick and smooth installation.
During the trial period, we analysed fuel consumptions with respect to different speed and RPM levels for finding targets to improve in vessel's fuel profile. These improvements can be very useful for creating guidance and instructing BuBe's skippers in addition to reviewing their trips and giving feedback to them. Moreover, we found out some calibration issues of different sensors which can be easily fixed by the engine provider. You can read our previous blogpost about how real-time analyses of driving styles can be beneficial in avoiding engine wearing and extending engine life.
After a successful testing period less than 3 months, BuBe managers decided to make a contract for 7 vessels. Installations of Los 130 and Los 131 were carried out in Fedje and Sandnessjøen in Norway. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in this trip was scheduling the installations. We performed the installations in a way that vessels kept performing their duties on the same day due to their tight schedules. Installations of Los 124 and Los 133 are underway and another two new builds will be ready before the end of 2019.
On the other hand, BuBe fleet managers set their own limits of maximum economic speed, fuel consumptions and driving style warnings for the proper use of vessels. Their skippers also wanted to some changes in interface and see their fuel tank levels. Their vessels were so modern that it was possible to receive fuel tank information from the engine unlike many other vessels. When BuBe asked whether it was possible to see fuel tank information in the interface, we were eager to add this feature to our roadmap and developed it in a short while. We are currently working on new developments like ballast tank level measurements and integration of green reporting system.
BuBe forges ahead in its digitalization project and gives special attention to reduce their emissions with regards to the recent regulations of Norwegian government. These regulations require organizations like BuBe to report their NOx levels and they are subject to taxes according to these emissions. Norwegian government sets high standards and this situation also opens door for more innovation resulting better monitoring and reduction of emissions. Majority of time, this reporting is being done manually and it can easily be automated. We are currently working on this project and an integration of reporting system to Marfle Fleet Analytics will make their operations more efficient. These kind of automated systems can replace time-consuming tasks and save valuable time and money in maritime industry which is perceived as “old fashioned” for long time.
New installations are being scheduled and Bube managers want to use Marfle Fleet Analytics in more vessels. We hope that our collaboration will extend to many years and will be the cornerstone of our success in Norwegian market.