The centre supports the shipping industry’s journey towards digitalisation and ultimately safer and more efficient vessel operations, the company claimed.
The new Shanghai centre will monitor data gathered by sensors on board ships and sent ashore by satellite, allowing ABB experts to remotely analyse equipment performance, troubleshoot and diagnose, as well as work on maintenance planning and fleet benchmarking.
It will work in conjunction with other centres in Norway (Billingstad), Finland (Helsinki), the Netherlands (Dalfsen), Italy (Genoa), the US (Miami) and Singapore, to support vessels on a 24/7 basis.
This global setup means that ABB specialists are available during their daytime working hours, no matter what the location of the ship or when assistance is sought. The new centre offers real-time support in both Chinese and English.
“We are living through one of the most exciting periods in the history of the maritime industry where digitalisation and connectivity are becoming predominant. I am delighted to launch our sector-leading solutions for collaborative operations in China,” said Alf- Kåre Ådnanes, ABB’s head of hub business unit marine & ports, China. “ABB has provided integrated propulsion systems to a wide range of vessels built in China, with both domestic and global operations. The ABB Ability collaborative operations centre allows us to better serve these vessels and their operators with the latest digital services, driving further progress for efficient and reliable operations.”
“ABB’s service capabilities reduce unexpected downtime and expensive missed port calls. Sometimes, we can even identify on board issues before the crew are aware of them and make predictive interventions. There are also clear benefits for customers of being able to speak to an engineer with ship data in front of them,” explained Roger Xie, general manager.
Remote monitoring undertaken through ABB’s collaborative operations allow owners to pre-survey marine equipment on board ship and collect data in advance of repairs. This can save up to 50% on drydocking ABB equipment, the company claimed.
“We believe the next generation of ships will be electric, digital and connected as the industry moves towards the use of new energy sources and automated ship operations,” added Juha Koskela, ABB Marine & Ports, managing director. “The Shanghai ABB Ability collaborative operations centre demonstrates ABB’s commitment to invest in shipping’s new digital solutions, providing a common operating platform that will convert big data into smarter services locally in China as well as globally.”
ABB is already remotely monitoring more than 700 ships and is targeting 3,000 by 2020, the company said.