A partnership of Japanese maritime companies looking to accelerate the use of digital twins has announced they have completed the early phases of their project and ‘initial results have confirmed the feasibility of increased data sharing between shipyards, shipowners, ship managers and charterers’.
The project, which aims to enable the use of a vessel’s unique design data to optimise efficiency and safety at sea as well as the sharing of operational data to inform new designs, brings together shipowners NYK Group’s MTI, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Marubeni Corporation; shipbuilders Imabari Shipbuilding, Japan Marine United and Usuki Shipyard; software and data services provider NAPA; and classification society ClassNK.
In a statement issued yesterday (22 May), ClassNK said that: ‘The first two phases of the project identified over 30 potential use cases where the data and 3D models used to design the ship can be shared securely and used to create a vessel-specific digital twin that helps improve operational efficiency and safety throughout its lifecycle. Further analysis confirmed the potential and value of digital twins in supporting loading calculations, ship condition monitoring and energy-saving device evaluation.’
The next phase will develop a new platform that will enable 3D models created during the design stage to be shared in a secure and access-controlled digital environment.
The partnership has also explored ways in which operational data can be fed back to shipyards to provide valuable insights on how their concepts perform in real life, thereby enabling naval architects and engineers to improve future ship designs.
The project aims to start operation in 2025 and ClassNK said that it ‘signals a potential breakthrough in the sharing of design and operational data to overcome traditional barriers to the adoption of digital twins in the maritime sector’.
Yoshimichi Sasaki, General Manager, Digital Transformation Center at ClassNK, said: ‘Digital twins are a key asset for shipping, particularly in the context of the energy transition. They offer unparalleled insight into a ship’s unique design profile and characteristics and unlock new opportunities to use this data to optimise operations and maintenance, while also expanding possibilities to deploy innovative technologies on board. This project demonstrates how we can break data silos to foster closer dialogue between shipyards and ship owners at a time of increasing design and operational complexity.’
