Research and development partnership to encourage AI-based vessel risk profiling

In 2021, of the estimated 130,000 ships in the global fleet, only 54 were reported lost at sea.

That ‘low’ number reflects the trend that global shipping safety is improving, with an increased focus on regulation, improved ship design, technology and risk management advances.

However, according to the AGCS Allianz Safety and Shipping Review 2022 ‘while the number of total losses declined over the past year, the number of reported shipping casualties or incidents increased’, with the British Isles showing the highest number of reported incidents, at 668 out of a global figure of 3,000.

At RightShip, we are working to ensure that ships are as safe as possible, so that cargo and crew are protected.​ Ship owners, charterers, insurers, ports and more turn to us to understand the risk profiles of vessels, using our data to make informed decisions on chartering, risk policies and commercial strategies.

However, creating rounded risk profiles can be challenging at times, due to poor data quality, ‘greedy algorithms’, incomplete documentation and human error.


Calculating our Safety Score

To calculate our Safety Score, the first step in our vetting process, we currently classify vessels on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 being the ‘least safe’ vessel. We use a combination of factors to calculate this score, including data reflecting:

 

• Historical incidents
• Port State Control information (PSC)
• Automatic Identification System (AIS) information
• Vessel specifications

However, thanks to a partnership with Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) we’re now looking to hone the processes we use to assess the risk profiles of vessels still further, using artificial intelligence to classify them more accurately.


Investing in AI research and development

Named the ‘Maritime Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development (R&D) grant call’, launched by the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI), and supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF), the project is open from 28 April 2022 to 7 July 2022 to researchers based in Singapore. Alongside RightShip, other supporters include software provider Kongsberg Digital AS and tech company Wärtsilä Voyage Limited.

Anshit Malik, Senior Marine Data Scientist for RightShip, recently presented our potential partnership working proposition to more than 80 of Singapore's foremost researchers working in the AI field, introducing a research grant of up to $4.5 million for the best solutions.

Anshit said: "It’s an absolute pleasure to be involved in this fantastic project. At RightShip we've been providing advice, guidance and solid data on the best ways to keep ships safe for more than 20 years.

"But we also know we can always improve, that with better data and more transparency we can make our oceans and the people who sail them even safer.”

To find out more about what’s required from applicants, just send us a message or head to the grant detail pages.