Page 129 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΣ 2024

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According to the participants’ responses, implement- EEDI of a Liberty vessel is almost ten times
ing multiple technological solutions is viewed as the higher than that of a modern vessel.
most effective way to reduce a ship’s carbon footprint. In this context, at a time when decarbonisa-
Is the shipping industry nearing a tipping point where tion – which most people perceive as a major
substantial benefits from the implementation of tech- cornerstone of our industry – is right around
nological solutions will be witnessed? the corner, I firmly believe that the transition
History has shown that all industries enjoy the to the zero-emissions era will undoubtedly
benefits of embracing new technological solu- bring substantial benefits to humanity.
tions. The wheel, sails, railways, aircraft, the
steam engine, and later the diesel engine, are In light of the upcoming environmental regulations,
only a few of the many great inventions that half of the participants believe that investing in
have significantly contributed to the modern machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI)
world’s prosperity, whilst making the relevant alongside green technologies and alternative fuels
industries greener and more cost-effective. is critical. What are some ways in which ML and AI
Shipping is no exception to this rule. Modern could fundamentally transform the way we perceive
ships are larger, faster, more economical to the energy efficiency of vessels?
run, and environmentally friendlier. It comes Speed, trim, and machinery load optimisa-
as no surprise that their engines consume tion based on high-frequency telemetry data
considerably less fuel than their predeces- are rightfully viewed as some of the simplest,
sors built some ten or twenty years ago, with most realistic, and cost-effective tools avail-
the difference being even more noticeable able to our industry to achieve the industry’s
compared to vintage vessels. From a techni- decarbonisation goal. I expect this to be further
cal perspective, this improvement is clearly culminated in the near future with the incor-
reflected in the impressive reduction of mod- poration of ML and AI, particularly in weather
ern vessels’ Energy Efficiency Design Index prediction and routing , as well as vessel speed,
(EEDI). As a matter of fact, the equivalent trim, and machinery load optimisation.

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