Stena Line to test artificial intelligence model

With support from the master and officers on board, Stena Line is hoping that the model will contribute to its sustainability target of cutting fuel consumption by 2.5% each year. The 57,639gt RoPax ferry, which operates between Gothenburg and Kiel, was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and delivered in 2003.
Lars Carlsson, head of AI at Stena Line, explained: “The model simulates many different scenarios before suggesting the most optimal route and performance set-up. With the help of AI, we are able to consider a number of variables, such as currents, weather conditions, shallow water and speed through water, in various combinations which would be impossible to do manually.”
The pilot project is taking place under the supervision of Senior Master Jan Sjöström who has been working with fuel consumption at Stena Line for the last 40 years. In the future, it is thought that AI will support decision-making by even the most experienced of ship masters.
Speaking about the pilot project, Sjöström said: “Since we are helping the AI to evolve, we might be assisting the AI more than we are at the moment, but it is a very exciting and rewarding process. We’ve been making adjustments to the model after each trip for about four weeks and it is amazing to see how quickly it is learning.”