The partnership allows Shell to benefit from Signal’s seven year investment in the development of digital technology that underpins a highly effective system for chartering vessels.
The addition of the energy major’s tonnage as well as a cargo contract into a third-party pool is a first for Shell and a milestone for Signal. The deal was concluded following six months of discussions and detailed due diligence. The move has already attracted significant interest from other shipowners looking to leverage Signal’s technology powered platform for their own fleets.
Signal Maritime’s CEO Panos Dimitracopoulos said:
“Signal Maritime is a tanker pool built to blend tech with chartering know-how. This exciting journey with one of the world’s biggest oil companies started with Shell first subscribing to the Signal Ocean software platform and seeing impact on its in-house chartering performance. The next and bigger step was to commit its MR tankers to the pool run by us.”
Today, companies controlling 60% of the world’s large tankers fleet and 47% of the corresponding crude cargoes are using Signal’s technology to boost freight trading performance. The technology can be accessed by clients or partners via an intuitive user interface or embedded directly into proprietary systems via its APIs.
Alongside trade performance, the digital platform is also allowing Shell and Signal to work on further reducing the partners’ environmental footprint and increase efficiencies in numerous workflows across the company.
Signal Group Chief Executive Ioannis Martinos said:
“Having demonstrated success in our Aframax pool, we were now presented with the chance to take proven solutions and adapt them to the realities of the MR market. The bigger the pool, the greater the possibility of vessel triangulation and reduced ballast voyage legs resulting in an improved bottom line for both the shipowners and the environment.”
He added:
“We’re extending the “repertoire” of Greek shipping. Traditionally Athens is well known as a shipowning centre, but we’ve proven that it can also be a leading maritime tech & services hub.”
The Signal Ocean platform is supported by more than 60 data scientists, software engineers and analysts and provides Signal Maritime’s chartering team with detailed competitor intelligence, the best trade routes, CO2 and voyage profit estimates which enable the participating fleet to be deployed strategically. The patented technology continuously processes and combines streams of private and public data including AIS, tonnage lists, cargo lists, vessel positions, port costs, port line-ups and freight rates. Using advanced algorithms and AI, data is transformed into private and actionable insights on the freight market.