The increased traffic volumes in the Malacca Straits transit and how ‘smart ships’ offering operating efficiencies could save up to $1m per vessel per year.

Malacca Straits transits hits all time high – The Malacca waterway is a key passage for the Asian and European trade as well as a barometer for the health of world trade. According to Seatrade, last year saw a huge increase in traffic volumes in the Straits, surpassing the 2008 peak. According to data from the Marine Department of Malaysia’s STRAITREP reporting system, there were 77,973 transits of the Malacca Strait last year by vessels of 300 gross tonnes or more, passing the previous high of 76,381 in 2008. Traffic volumes in the Straits grew 22% during the so-called super-cycle that shipping experienced from 2005-2008, with the number of transits rising from 62,621 in 2005 to 76,381 in 2008. However, due to the global financial crisis, the number of transits fell to 71,359 in 2009, a year that also saw a 12% fall in global trade. The increase in traffic in this key waterway is good news in terms of the balance of supply and demand in shipping.  However, it also presents challenges when it comes to the safety of navigation, particularly in the large tanker segment, where the deepwater route is little more than 1 km wide at its narrowest point. Despite the financial crisis, VLCC traffic showed a strong 20% growth in the last five years and the number of VLCCs transiting the Malacca Straits hit 4,825 last year, at an average of 13.2 transits a day, with the growth in Chinese crude oil imports from the Middle East seen as a major driver.

Shipping on the brink of “the maritime industrial internet” – As unprecedented access to information and communications is leading shipping to the so-called “internet of things”, ‘smart ships’ would enable better informed decision-making through the use of advanced analytics, reports Lloyd’s List.  Smart Operations 2014, an industry event focused on operational efficiencies, highlighted how modern techniques could save up to $1m per ship per year. According to Frank Coles, Inmarsat Maritime President, with more than 12.5bn online devices and as many as 50bn likely to be online by 2020, smart ships will enable shipowners to find out when to replace cylinder rings before they break, when to change filters, and the best times to switch equipment on or off.  UK Chamber of Shipping Director of Safety and Environment David Balston emphasized the impending regulatory changes, concentrating on restrictions on sulphur emissions, which will necessitate either a switch to middle distillates or the adoption of scrubbers or liquefied natural gas as a fuel, all of which are expensive solutions. “As more and more energy efficiency solutions have become available, shipowners had to find out which choice was right for them”, said Lloyd’s Register’s Lead Environmental Specialist Paul McStay. Shipowners were also warned that it was inevitable that, at some point, they would be charged for their carbon dioxide emissions.