Fraunhofer Cml News

Marlink and research institute Fraunhofer CML (Center for Maritime Logistics and Services) annonced a partnership to identify Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data to accelerate digitalization and define the ROI scenarios for operational efficiency.Marlink will leverage its BridgeLink solution to deliver data from core engine room and bridge systems including VDR, ECDIS, Radar, AIS, AMS, engine control systems, cargo systems, propulsion and sensors. Fraunhofer CML develops and optimizes processes and systems for the maritime supply chain.

Maritime communications specialist Marlink signed an agreement with research institute Fraunhofer CML (Center for Maritime Logistics and Services) to identify Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data to accelerate digitalization and define the Return on Investment (ROI) scenarios for long term operational efficiency.Within this agreement, Marlink will leverage its BridgeLink solution to deliver data from core engine room and bridge systems including VDR, ECDIS, Radar, AIS, AMS, engine control systems, cargo systems, propulsion, and sensors.

Germany’s marine and offshore equipment suppliers will have to continue efforts this year to respond to the continuing weak demand from other countries and growing competition in global shipping markets, says German Engineering Federation (VDMA) who reported a decline in orders in the maritime sector in 2017 as sales slid slightly to €11.1 billion ($12.7 billion). However, according to VDMA, the general situation in mechanical engineering industry and digitalization show encouraging signs as companies stand to benefit from developing new markets…

There is a global boom in the development of unmanned systems, from below the ocean’s surface to high in the sky to the world’s roads. Add to this list the maritime industry, on both military and civilian vessels. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News examines in depth recent developments taking place in Europe to discover general thoughts and technical trends driving the future of unmanned shipping. The joint European Research Project MUNIN was finalized in August 2015, a project…

Hamburg-based ship-owning and ship management company E.R. Schiffahrt developed a Crew Compliance Optimizer, CCO, together with its partners Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement and the scientists of the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services (CML). "The maritime industry is in urgent need of an instrument capable of accurately planning the size and composition of the crew for a particular ship size and route and the work processes required during port stays," said Ole John, Senior Research Associate with Fraunhofer CML. The number of sailors needed on board essentially depends on how many are required to run the ship safely at all times and perform maintenance work in addition to that.

Drones do it and spacecraft have too, for many years. Recently, also, automobile makers and small boat makers have introduced their first autonomous vehicles on the streets, and waterways. Unmanned vessels on the ocean is no longer a dream – it is a reality. And according to those in the know, the reality will really start to come to fruition in the coming decaded. The MUNIN project (Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence in Networks) is investigating potential concepts for a fully or partially unmanned merchant vessel. The case ship is a dry bulk carrier of handymax size, operating on routes between Europe and South America in the beginning.

Experts from the maritime industry met on the M/S Pearl Seaways from January 28-30 for the e-Navigation Underway 2014 international conference. One topic of the talks and discussions was unmanned shipping, which Fraunhofer CML is examining and advancing as part of the research project MUNIN (Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence in Networks). e-navigation – in other words the collection, analysis and exchange of maritime information both on land and at sea – was the main subject of talk on the M/S Pearl Seaways and discussed by the maritime experts on various levels.

A new study from Germany show rapid expansion in the maritime fleet management software sector. While shipowners are generally classified conservative in the uptake of new technology, the advent of increasingly sophisticated software solutions which manage everything from fuel  to cargo to crew make a compelling financial case to modernize quickly. Earlier this summer Germany’s Fraunhofer CML issued what is arguably the most thorough study to date which analyzes the software market as applied to shipping companies. Entitled “Fleet Management Systems 2013,” the 60-plus page report provides exhaustive detail and insightful research on software solutions from 46 providers globally, with many pages of product overview helping to measure how one system stacks up versus another.