PSA Marine in Singapore has launched a new digital system to share updates with vessel masters on pilot boarding times and traffic conditions as they approach pilot boarding grounds, which it hopes will contribute to reduced carbon emissions from ships calling at the port city.
The Vessel Pilot Communication (VPC) tool was launched at the end of August, to improve information sharing and allow captains to adjust their vessels’ speed to more accurately time their arrival to Singapore to coincide with pilot services, thereby optimising fuel consumption.
“We are delighted to garner support from the major shipping lines in our digitalisation and decarbonisation journey,” said Jimmy Koh, Head of Digital Transformation and Chief Pilot of PSA Marine.
“During the pilot trial, the participating shipping lines have provided valuable feedback on the VPC digital solution. With its launch, all vessels calling at the Port of Singapore can benefit from information that can help them play their part in environmental sustainability.”
The VPC will be available as a module within PSA Marine’s ONEHANDSHAKE digital platform, designed to share information on port activities with maritime stakeholders. Among the pilot users of the system has been container shipping company Yang Ming, which has used the new tool to more accurately control its ships’ arrival times into Singapore.
“With VPC, there is significant improvement in the way we monitor our fleet. Our ship masters will be notified of any changes to the pilot boarding time by the VPC,” explained Dannis Lee, Managing Director of Yang Ming (Singapore).
“In addition, with information of the traffic conditions available on the VPC, they can adjust the vessels’ speed to derive a more accurate estimated time of arrival at the Port of Singapore. Hence, this enables our vessels to achieve a more efficient fuel consumption and allows us to contribute towards decarbonisation.”
