A new study by Orca AI, a shipping startup, has revealed that deploying artificial intelligence (AI) for sea navigation could reduce carbon emissions from the global commercial shipping industry by 47 million tonnes per year.
According to the report, the technology could reduce the need for manoeuvres and route deviations during close encounters with high-risk marine targets such as vessels, buoys, and sea mammals by alerting the crew in real-time.
The shipping industry moves about 90 percent of global trade and contributes about 3 percent to the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Experts believe this share will rise in the coming years unless stricter pollution control measures are implemented.
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The International Maritime Organization aims to cut emissions by 20 percent by 2030, a target threatened by the ongoing Red Sea crisis.
“In the short term, it can lead to fewer crew members on the bridge, while those who are on the bridge will have a reduced workload and more attention to tackle complex navigational tasks, optimising the voyage and reducing fuel and emissions,” said Yarden Gross, Orca AI chief executive officer. “In the long term, it will open the door to fully autonomous shipping.”
Global carbon dioxide shipping emissions reached an estimated 858 million tonnes in 2022, a marginal rise from the previous year, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Orca AI’s study showed an average of 2,976 marine incidents are reported annually. Reducing route deviations could help ships shave off 38.2 million nautical miles per year from their travel, saving an average of $100,000 in fuel costs per vessel.
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