While Covid-19 has thrown a spanner in the works for the cruise industry, many companies are already setting their sights on the challenges beyond 2020 or even 2030. The industry must become greener and smarter, and greener and smarter it shall be. There is no shortage of initiatives
[ds_preview]The larger trends will come as no surprise to the industry: the future will be green(er) and smart(er). But let’s have a closer look at where innovation might lead us.
Green(er) shipping
The 2020 sulphur cap is old hat. Even the 2030 IMO carbon footprint goals are feasible with the current engineering technology. But IMO’s zero carbon shipping goals within this century will require us to think outside the box.
I am, for once, mildly optimistic. The practical dreamers and creative engineers have come forward recently, surprising even me with some of the ideas, most of them matured to prototype stage. Many small and medium enterprises see the challenges as opportunities, and one can only wish them Godspeed.
»If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable,« said Seneca. But since the goal is clear, the wind seems to be favourable for sustainable propulsion, most notably wind assisted propulsion systems (WAPS). Kites, rigid sails, or Flettner rotors? Only time and evolution will tell, as business cases depend on vendor prices, operational profiles and design constraints. But already one thing is clear: Smart and green should go together. Use high-fidelity CFD to design the WAPS, use smart routing software to double your fuel savings. Green is the new smart; smart is the new green.
But sustainable propulsion goes beyond WAPS. Scrubbers and LNG may dominate the discussion for 2020, but we all know that they are just bridging technologies for bolder things to come. The 2050 goals are another ballgame altogether. Think revolution rather than evolution. Methanol, ammonia and hydrogen contend, with »blue«, »bio« and »e« thrown in as prefixes. And with new fuels will come with new machinery technologies. Diesel engines, with their noise and vibrations, may become things of the past. The future is (much more) electric, fuel cells, batteries and cold ironing.
Smoother shipping
Another sustainable shipping topic has become »hot« in 2020: biofouling management, partly because IMO’s biofouling guidelines are due for review, partly because hull management is the second-largest lever to save fuel, and partly because tightening regional legislation is starting to affect ship operators. New challenges breed new (smarter) solutions.
Enter the robot. Robotic cleaning solutions have evolved exponentially around the globe, allowing proactive cleaning or grooming, before hard fouling can develop. If used at the biofilm stage, you don’t even need to capture the removed slime. At later stages, mature robotic solutions with capturing and disposal are used already, e.g. in the port of Zeebrugge. Ideally, coating and cleaning should be matched. While you’re rethinking your biofouling management, why not use latest 3D printing technology for easy-to-clean nano-coatings? Prototype developments from Sweden and Italy are already tested.
But robots are no good in niche areas, such as sea chests. Here ultrasonic transducers or most recently developed UV light emitting tiles may serve as complementary protection.
Smarter shipping
Cruise shipping is arguably one of the most innovative segments of the maritime industry, and much of the innovation focuses on the customer experience. Modern technology can support this quest in many ways.
Gone are the plastic wristbands to identify a customer. Bring in facial recognition using Artificial Intelligence – unique identifier we will never forget to bring. Face recognition will mean faster boarding, direct billing at the bar and in shops, and access control. AI is also used in monitoring traffic onboard future cruise ships, yielding for example real-time information on how full restaurants are. Or, a Virtual Concierge based on AI is there 24/7 to answer guests’ questions. If it runs out of Artificial Intelligence, it refers to a human colleague, but most of the questions can by now be answered by AI. In all these applications, AI is used to reduce annoying waiting times for customers.
Digital Twin technology and Virtual Reality are used in design to assess the »look and feel«, the aesthetics and functionalities, of a cruise ship long before it is built. The models can be re-used later in operation, e.g. for virtual tours of the cruise ship during the booking process. Coupled with navigational information, the then Augmented Reality can be used for finding your way on a cruise ship. It seems we just opened the door to what Virtual and Augmented Reality can do to make the next cruise even more enjoyable.
If there is one message to take from the innovations presented in 2020, it is this: Forget the prophecies of doom! The industry is reinventing itself and its innovative drive is impressive. Better days will come, or as they said in Italy in Covid-19 times: Andra tutto bene.
Author: Volker Bertram DNV
