Maritime software provider Coach Solutions, owned by Kongsberg Digital, reports that it has upgraded its Valid Voyage optimisation system to include live weather conditions and forecasts.
The Weather Viewer functionality is available to both crew onboard ship and shoreside managers simultaneously. Data is included in a live map view and can also be accessed as a PDF if the ship is operating in a low bandwidth environment.
Users can also move forward in time to explore potential risks based on forecast weather conditions up to 10 days in advance, utilising data sourced from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and including pressure lines, cyclones, wave height and direction.
The Valid Voyage software utilises fuel models to ensure accurate speed and consumption profiles for vessels, to improve accuracy in voyage estimates, including on short-term and voyage charters.
Each voyage can be instructed on optimal speed, fixed ETA or against warranted speed and consumption figures, enabling operators to select the optimal strategy for each voyage while complying with relevant emissions regulations.
“We are able to predict the majority of vessel performance parameters with increasing accuracy, but weather is the one factor that shipowners cannot completely plan for,” said Christian Rae Holm, CEO, Coach Solutions.
“Adding Weather Viewer to the Valid Voyage module provides crews and vessel operators with an additional tool to improve transparency that can drive safety and greater efficiency.”
