Finnish start-up nauticAi has signed an agreement with Inmarsat to become a certified application provider (CAP) for Inmarsat’s Fleet Data service, integrating nauticAi’s Bridge Operations Quality Assurance (BOQA) application with Inmarsat’s software infrastructure using the Fleet Data API (Application Programming Interface).
Developed by Inmarsat and Danelec Marine, and made commercially available earlier this year, Fleet Data collects data from onboard sensors, pre-processes that data, and uploads it to a central Cloud-based database.
BOQA is essentially an automated event tracker, which uses rules and artificial intelligence techniques to detect anomalies and deviations in operational behaviour. Some of the key event types include route plan deviations, heavy weather, heavy motions, sudden stops at sea, under keel clearance, excessive rudder movement, black-outs and crash stops.
New event types, such as close encounter detection, minimum CPA and TSS-violations are also currently in development for future introduction, nauticAi says.
Under this new agreement with Inmarsat, BOQA will be able to utilise VDR data collected by Fleet Data to automate and standardise Operational Quality Assurance across fleets of ships.
The BOQA-methodology (Bridge Operations Quality Assurance) is inspired by its equivalent in the flight industry, and it was first introduced to maritime operations by cruise liners Royal Caribbean and Carnival to provide continuous monitoring of sensor data and alarms, and to raise alerts if deviations from defined operational limits were detected.
“We are delighted to be working with an innovative start-up such as nauticAi,” said Marco Cristoforo Camporeale, Head of Digital Solutions, Inmarsat Maritime.
“Safety at sea is part of our DNA and this partnership will help standardise the data collection of safety operational data and ultimately reduce incidents at sea and make ships safer.”
“It will allow ship operators and managers to implement their own BOQA systems, through the nauticAi application on Fleet Data and via a secure platform that is fully scalable, fleet-wide and now commercially available on both Fleet Xpress and FleetBroadband.”
