Japanese maritime company Marubeni has agreed a deal with situational awareness systems provider Orca AI to install the platform on its vessels and also become a distribution partner for the Israeli company’s services.
“In line with our commitment to ‘creating value through innovative solutions for our customers and for the world’, we trust that the partnership with Orca AI contributes to achievement of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) for the entire shipping industry,” said Yasutomo Miyake, General Manager, Ship Project Dept at Marubeni.
“We appreciate the enthusiasm of the Orca AI team and look forward to a productive cooperation on this next-generation platform that promises to significantly enhance navigational decision making.”
Orca AI’s SeaPod lookout unit acts as an automatic digital watchkeeper, powered by computer vision and deep-learning algorithms that detect, track, and classify nearby targets that could potentially pose a risk to the vessel.
The system can be used to provide situational awareness assistance for bridge crews during challenging navigational scenarios such as congested waterways and low-visibility conditions.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Marubeni as an innovation-driven conglomerate whose operations span the entire shipping value chain. Our system benefits stakeholders such as Marubeni by automating watchkeeping, helping to reduce seafarers’ workload while lowering the risk of collisions at sea,” said Yarden Gross, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Orca AI.
“As well as supporting existing operations, AI and computer vision technologies are also expected to become an enabler of autonomous fleet operations in the coming years.”
To date, Orca AI says that it has accumulated more than 20 million nautical miles-worth of marine visual data from its customers, including NYK, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), and Maran Group.
