Ferry giant smartens up with artificial intelligence tech

Scandinavian firm Stena Line aims to slash emissions with the futuristic software

Scandinavian ferry giant Stena Line is trialling the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help reduce the fuel consumption and environmental impact of its vessels.

It has partnered with technology company Hitachi to develop an AI model able to anticipate the most fuel efficient way of operating a particular ship on a particular route, taking a wide range of external factors into account.

If the model is successful, it will be used to support captains and pilots in their decision making and contribute to reaching the company’s annual goal of cutting fuel consumption on board its ferries by 2.5% each year.

The smart technology is able to learn and improve on previous journeys – the company plans for all operations to be assisted by AI by 2021.

Lars Carlsson, Head of AI at Stena Line, said: “Thanks to AI we now have the opportunity to take into account a large number of factors, such as currents, weather conditions, water depth and speed through water in more combinations than previously possible to do manually”

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