Wärtsilä invests in Marindows to help Japanese shipping market decarbonise

Wärtsilä Voyage, part of the Finnish technology group Wärtsilä, has completed an investment in Marindows, a Japanese company delivering an open digital platform for Japan’s marine industry.

Both Marindows and Wärtsilä Voyage are said to share a common vision of digitalisation as a means to accelerate decarbonisation and efficiency in the global marine industry. The move will also serve to strengthen Wärtsilä Voyage’s commitment to the Japanese market.

Together, Marindows and Wärtsilä Voyage said they will be creating significant value for the Japanese market through their collaboration, which will include the areas of vessel optimization and autonomy. Safer, greener and more efficient operations are some of the benefits both companies set to bring to the market by reinforcing synergies and leveraging a digital ecosystem of applications that run onboard and ashore.

“It’s a great pleasure to have Wärtsilä Voyage as the first overseas partner collaborating with Marindows and participating in our project. Marindows also welcomes Wärtsilä’s strong commitment to the Japanese market… However, this market has faced complex challenges such as a shortage of manpower and faced some obstacles in supporting sustainable shipping,” Yasumasa Suetsugu, President, Marindows, commented.

“We provide the solutions to overcome these challenges through digital transformation (DX) and we’re very excited to work together with Wärtsilä Voyage to add new value. Starting with DX, Marindow believes both companies can do more to create a bright maritime future and contribute to a sustainable world.”

Founded in March 2021, Marindows focuses on the development of a marine digital platform, linking edge computing onboard ships with cloud services and shore-based applications to provide a range of maritime specific services to both seafarers and vessel operators. Its approach to digitalisation is seen as a perfect fit for Wärtsilä Voyage’s digital portfolio, which includes technology solutions to reduce carbon emissions and enhance autonomous shipping.

“We are … excited by the opportunity that this collaboration with Marindows brings. We are deeply committed to the Japanese market, and this is an important step towards establishing and growing our presence there,” Sean Fernback, President, Wärtsilä Voyage and Executive Vice President, Wärtsilä, said.

“We can accelerate new value creation and technology adoption by supporting Marindows with our … platform and suite of technologies.”

Last month, Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Shipbuilding also completed an investment into Marindows.

The investment is expected to provide electrification and autonomous operation in the coastal vessel industry, particularly in the small and mid-sized vessel market, fishing boat market and pleasure boat market.

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