BetterFleet, a free-to-access ship operational efficiency portal has been launched on website ShippingEffieincy.org by NGO Carbon War Room, vessel tracking provider exactEarth and UMAS (partnership between the University College London (UCL) Energy Institute and MATRANS). The portal illustrates where and how much efficiency varies for ships, in order to identify potential sources of inefficiencies, find opportunities to optimise operations, and reduce costs for everyone.

“BetterFleet data is derived from automated information system (AIS) information that all ships in the world transmit continuously,” Carbon War Room told The Marine Professional. “This data covers very basic attributes of ship operation including speed, location, and IMO number. This basic data is commonly available from other providers, but BetterFleet combines these with fleet technical specifications, engineering and statistical models developed at UCL and UMAS to transform the raw data into estimates of operational efficiency. This is done using software that has been gradually refined over 5 years and heavily tested against actual ship and voyage data.”

The NGO wants “those who use shipping as part of their supply chains to understand the impact of their decisions and requirements, and work with owners to create change that lowers costs and reduces supply chain GHG emissions”.

Galen Hon, shipping operation manager, Carbon War Room explains: “Shippers and cargo-owners often specify how the ship must be run, how it is loaded, and what schedule it adheres to.”

The BetterFleet portal on ShippingEfficiency.org will allow any registered user to search by ship name or IMO number to see the performance of that vessel over a 12-month period. It displays metrics and visuals to provide a holistic view of the ship’s operation

• An “out of ten” score summarising the overall performance of the ship over the last 12 months compared with ships of similar type and size
• An overview of the magnitude and frequency of estimated operational efficiency variations for the individual vessel and for all the vessels in the same type and size, measured in grams of CO2 per tonne-mile of freight transported
• A world map depicting the voyages of the vessel over the same time period