Swedish ferry company Stena Line has proven that its pilot project using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict the most fuel-efficient way to operate a vessel is saving fuel on the company’s ships.
Stena Line started the AI technology pilot project onboard the Stena Scandinavica on the Gothenburg – Kiel route in 2018. The results show that the project enabled the captain and crew to save 2-3% fuel per trip with AI assistance.
The software is now named Stena Fuel Pilot and will be installed on five more Stena Line vessels during the autumn. The company said that its ambition is to do a complete fleet wide roll-out on all 37 vessels in Europe during 2020.
Stena Line noted that reducing fuel consumption is its priority area, adding that it has a target to lower the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 2.5% yearly. Fuel is also one of the largest costs for a ferry company like Stena Line, at around 20% of total costs.
“AI technology has shown to be a successful solution to tackle these challenges and achieve the ambitious targets we have set for ourselves.”
“Stena Line aims to become the world’s first cognitive ferry company; assisted by AI in all areas by 2021. This project is using AI technology to support our captains and officers to save fuel. By improving the efficiency, we reduce both our costs and our environmental footprint. It really embodies Stena Line’s vision of Connecting Europe for a Sustainable future,” Jari Virtanen, Chief Transformation Officer at Stena Line, said.