Navtor, Weathernews partner to enhance service

May 2, 2018 by Triton Staff

Norwegian e-navigation company Navtor has partnered with Weathernews Inc. (WNI), a private weather service company based in Japan, to upgrade Navtor’s weather information offering within its route planning software NavStation, according to a company statement.

Initially, the agreement calls for WNI to provide enhanced resolution of weather data for Navtor, as well as weather information covering areas such as tropical cyclones and weather fronts, to deliver a more comprehensive service for NavStation users. This is to be followed by the integration of WNI’s Shipping Weather Service Fleet Management platform into NavStation. According to Navtor, this integration will enable benefits including optimum ship routing and fleet monitoring. Launched in 2014, NavStation allowed navigators to gather, view and manage voyage information such as weather data, tidal information and digital publications in one place.

The two firms also are working to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) routing service that, according to Navtor, essentially involves the creation of a new software tool that will transform data into detailed and reliable decision-making tools with real-time capabilities.

“Data is the most valuable ingredient for AI, and Navtor and WNI have access to enormous amounts of it from thousands of vessels operating today,” stated Navtor CEO Tor Svanes. “It is our intention to develop a solution that learns to perceive its environment and recommend optimal actions.”

Official release of the WNI integrated NavStation is scheduled for June. Details of the ongoing AI development will be released later.

WNI employs more than 900 staff, including more than 400 meteorologists, in 40 cities in 15 countries and regions, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, France, Denmark, China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Navtor supplies ENC-based services for a broad range of global shipping firms, serving its global customer base from offices in Singapore, Japan, Sweden, Russia, USA and the UK. For more information, visit navtor.com.

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