From One Port to Another: How Poor Connectivity Can Affect the Maritime Industry
Every day, thousands of cargoes and ships traverse through seas and deepen economic ties between nations. There’s no doubt that the maritime industry, which transports a multitude of goods through 50,000 vessels, plays a vital role in today’s global economy.
Yet, for an industry that connects countries by sea, it has been struggling to remain interconnected. Other industries have successfully integrated tools such as blockchain, and are even looking at disruptive technologies like IOTA and AI at the edge to further digitize their operations. On the other hand, the maritime sector remains hampered with the same problems that hinder them from improving their operational efficiency.
Operational Problems
Flourishing trade among countries has also resulted in numerous issues for the maritime industry, particularly its operations.
For one, shipping firms still have trouble with tracking, as most cargoes and containers are still monitored through clipboards or hand scanners. This manual administrative work ends up costing over 20 percent of the total amount of shipping goods.
Overcapacity, on the other hand, continues to be a lingering issue until today. Combine it with low freight rates and surging fuel costs, and liner companies run the risk of depressing their profitability.
Then there’s the matter of seafarers and their welfare. Connectivity has become more of a need than a want, given that most have their own mobile devices. With little to no means of connecting with their friends and loved ones on land, seafarers run the risk of mental health issues.
Digitizing Maritime Operations
Given this outlook, companies must look at how they can achieve better operational efficiencies and lower costs through digitization.
Several shipping companies have looked into the use of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI. Their initiatives and strategies on IoT, in particular, are aimed at transforming three main factors:
Cargo tracking
With IoT, companies can track and monitor their cargoes in real-time. They can determine the location, date, and time of delivery, allowing them to accurately control their inventory and assets.
Cargo condition
IoT also enables companies to monitor their cargo conditions through triggered alerts and metrics tracking, such as temperature, humidity, and velocity, among others.
Cost savings
By automating some processes, IoT helps shipping companies increase productivity and cost-effectively reduce human errors.
Connectivity at Sea
One thing is for sure: IoT has been gradually disrupting the maritime industry for some time now, and technologies that enable connectivity even at sea are in high demand.
To help, companies like SOIL come in. By combining cleantech and IoT to provide connectivity, soon, no ship will remain disconnected. Their new Griot connectivity platform, in particular, offers decentralized connectivity to anywhere and to any point, whether land or sea. This platform powers up the internet of things more effectively and affordably than WiFi or BlueTooth with the help of nanosatellites in Low Earth Orbit.
With better connectivity comes better opportunities for the maritime industry to keep the relationship and trade between countries robust. Innovative solutions like the Griot connectivity platform can boost the ongoing efforts to modernize the maritime sector and foster stronger economic ties among nations.
ABOUT SOIL
SOIL combines cleantech and IoT to produce products for on and off-grid consumers with the main focus of bringing power and connectivity everywhere. SOIL is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. For more information about SOIL, visit: http://www.soildesigngroup.com or get in touch with us via media@soildesigngroup.com.
