AI and shipping
AI plays an important role in many industries, from banking and cybersecurity to retail and automotive. Its use is endless, and the application of artificial intelligence in shipping can impact predictive capabilities and make operations more efficient. This relates primarily to real-time analytics capabilities, improved planning, automated processes, etc.
Cross-industry studies of AI adoption have shown that the first users to implement a proactive AI strategy in the transport and logistics sector have achieved more than 5% profit. When applied to shipping, machine intelligence can be very useful in analyzing various geographical data to accurately calculate container routes and change routes to save fuel.
Among the benefits of AI in shipping:
- Advanced analytics. Helps in obtaining valuable information from many data sources.
- Automated equipment. Machine learning successfully analyses historical data taking into account factors such as weather conditions or busy/slow delivery seasons. Using algorithmic processes, problems can be identified before they occur. This gives time to make adjustments.
- Safety. The number of accidents and incidents can be reduced with AI. Artificial intelligence can also help identify the risk of threats and other malicious activities.
- Route optimization. AI can enable optimization models to determine the most efficient route with minimal fuel consumption and weather conditions.
- Performance Prediction. AI can consider the relationship between speed and power to predict changes in performance due to underwater pollution. By analyzing historical data, the rate of decline in vessel performance can be determined.
- Automation of terminal processes. AI can already be used to manage processes at container terminals, which will dramatically improve the quality of delivery services.
Perhaps one of the goals of AI in shipping is to enable ships to operate without or with minimal involvement of human labor. However, fully automated container ships would be very costly to build. Such ships could also become easy targets for pirates.
