Big data in maritime: K Line to expand sharing of ship operational data

Japanese shipping major Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) and Ship Data Center (ShipDC) have agreed to share operational data of the entire K Line fleet equipped with Kawasaki Integrated Maritime Solutions through IoS Open Platform (IoS OP).

IoS OP enables the sharing of ship operation data among shipbuilders, manufacturers, and related service providers without compromising the profits of data providers. 57 organizations joined the member association “IoS-OP Consortium” as of the end of 2020.

K Line has been so far storing operational data collected from several vessels equipped with Kawasaki Integrated Maritime Solutions to IoS-OP.

The company has now agreed to expand the sharing for its owned fleet of about 140 vessels.

Though the development of information and communication technology has made it possible to collect large and various data from ships in operation, approaches for data collection and analysis are still fragmented, according to K Line.

For encouraging big data use in the maritime industry, ShipDC is working on a common platform for ship-related data.

Specifically, the data sharing significantly increases the amount of ship operational data transferred in IoS-OP and enables IoS-OP members to fully utilize the shared big data to enhance their corporate value. This includes the pursuit of ship safety and economic efficiency, environmental initiatives, and the creation of maritime innovations to strengthen their competitiveness.

As explained, K Line and ShipDC aim for the safety of ships, contribution to the environment, and economic rationality through the data utilization as well as the further acceleration of the collection, distribution, and utilization of data in the maritime industry with IoS-OP at the core.