The Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) has launched a new Ship Drift Trajectory Prediction Service developed in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), designed to improve emergency response for vessels that lose propulsion.
The program predicts the likely drift paths of disabled ships using real-time environmental data, with the aim of helping authorities and response teams to plan and execute search and rescue operations more effectively.
The class society notes that the system can also be used to prevent groundings, avoid collisions with offshore and coastal infrastructure, and guide nearby vessels to maintain navigational safety.
“As maritime traffic and offshore developments continue to grow, accurate drift trajectory prediction becomes essential for safeguarding lives, assets, and infrastructure,” said P. K. Mishra, Managing Director of IRS.
“This new service empowers response teams to forecast vessel drift based on real-time environmental conditions.”
The tool includes built-in post-processing functions for visualising drift simulations and can generate video outputs for further analysis.
