Technology giant Microsoft has teamed up with chemical tanker shipbroking and agency services firm SPI Marine on a project to bridge the gap between data and voyage decision making.
Using AI-powered data processing technology, shipbrokers, owners and charterers will be able to ask questions via a Question and Answer (Q&A) style search engine to gain real-time answers.
SPI Marine chief operating officer Mark Roberts said: “In order to grow and prosper, a leading modern shipbroker needs to be a powerful data processing and analytics company. Getting accurate, data-driven, and real-time answers to today’s myriad of commercial and operational questions is key.”
The system will tackle a variety of questions. What are the average waiting times at the Houston LBC3 tanker terminal by month? What is the load pump rate for vegetable oils in New Orleans and St Rose? The Q&A system will have answers
Microsoft said voyages for ships with multiple parcels of different chemical products that visit several ports taking in both loading and discharge operations are “a data model’s worst nightmare”.
SPI, which says it handles a multimillion tonne cargo portfolio annually focusing on the petrochemical and edible oils supply chain, is further developing its data analytics platform, The Vault, with Microsoft Power BI (Business Intelligence) services to answer a wider range of questions across other shipping sectors.
Vault users are currently given a login and password supplied to SPI clients, but going forward the aim is to make the service available to the wider shipping community.
“This is a game changer. Microsoft's ability to bridge the gap between end-users and data has helped enable us to differentiate our service offer,” said Cameron Amigo, the digital and analytics lead at SPI.
SPI said the development will help empower ship brokers and users to draw conclusions that will affect the cost and time of clients’ voyages before they are executed.
“We’ve learned a lot by working alongside Microsoft and their partners CSG to turn raw data into real insights,” Amigo added.
SPI Marine was formed in 2011 from the merger of US tanker chartering firm STCI and Singapore-based Panasia to handle a then combined volume of more than 13m tonnes per year.
