GL SeaScout - Optimising routing decisions

GL SeaScout is an integrated onboard system that provides ship’s officers with decision-making support. By combining advanced computations with seaway measurements, wave and weather forecasts, load data and other signals, GL SeaScout informs a ship’s officers of how the ship is responding to current conditions. It also shows alarms and warnings for risk of extreme movements including rolling, slamming, and bending moment, and allows the officers to simulate different speeds and courses. In this way it assists officers in choosing a speed and course that are optimised for the individual ship’s hull with respect to the prevailing seaway and loading conditions of the ship.

The Challenges of Optimal Vessel Routing

Optimal ship routing is understood to entail reducing voyage costs while maintaining safe passage. However, seaway and weather conditions can pose variables that require modification of the initially planned route. You want to ensure that the navigating officers onboard have high-quality information available on exactly how the ship is responding to prevailing conditions and what dangers of extreme ship movements exist. You want to be sure that navigational decisions taken onboard will optimize safety of vessel, cargo, and crew while maintaining schedule integrity.

The Solution You Need

GL SeaScout is an integrated onboard system that provides ship’s officers with decision-making support. It is suitable for any kind of vessel, and is a particularly sensible solution for containerships, MPVs, passenger ships, heavy lift vessels, bulk carriers or tankers.

GL SeaScout combines advanced computations with seaway measurements and wave/weather forecasts, and other data such as load situation. The system informs a ship’s officers of how the ship is responding to current conditions with respect to pre-defined alarm levels for movements such as slamming, rolling, pitching, or bending moment. It also provides navigating officers with a tool to determine optimal speed and course to minimize or avoid dangers and risk to vessel, cargo and crew.

• Monitoring of acceleration / ship movements along three axes: heave, sway, surge, yaw, pitch, and roll
• Monitoring of current ship’s responses according to pre-defined alarm levels
• Warnings and alarms when critical values are approached or exceeded
• Simulation mode for determining best speed and course to minimize risk
• Logging of voyage data for subsequent analysis
• User-friendly: variable display for dusk and night; touchscreen interface

GL SeaScout is available in two versions: GL SeaScout - Basic uses the seaway forecasts from the weather routing provider. The Premium version additionally measures the seaway from onboard ship by means of nautical X-band radar and can also include data from a Hull Response Monitoring System.

How You Benefit

• Enhanced schedule integrity: Avoid costly delays
• Increased ship safety: Support your crew in navigating more safely in extreme weather conditions, e.g. by avoiding rolling and slamming
• Cost savings: If the risk of damage to the ship, cargo and environment as well as injuries to the crew is reduced, your operational costs will be lower, e.g. through reduced down-times and repair costs, fewer claims and, possibly, lower insurance rates
• Reduced ship motion: This results in more comfortable voyages for passengers and crew and lowers the risk of container losses
• Quantifiable performance: By monitoring hull stresses and loads, it is possible to evaluate a ship’s lifecycle performance

Full Service and Support

• GL Maritime Software offers comprehensive service and support to maximize your benefit.
• Comprehensive pre-installation support
• Onboard installation of a customised system with no interruption to a ship’s operation
• Evaluation and verification of results during a 12-month validation period
• Training version to prepare crew for handling GL SeaScout and simulating a ship’s response to adverse seaways
• Training and support during installation and commissioning
• Onboard system maintenance (on request)

Related Products and Services

GL SeaScout offers synergies and integration to other GL Services and Products:

One-stop shopping at GL

Ship Operational Software:

GL HullManager, GL FleetAnalyzer, GL SeaScout, GL Rules Pilot

Consulting:

Fuel efficiency consulting, support in the design ans implementation of innovative maintenance concepts.

Training:

DPA, Hull Monitoring seminar, ISM/TMSA, Maritime regulations

Certification:

IMO, ILO, ISM, ISO, ISPS among others

How GL SeaScout Works

The GL SeaScout onboard software tool is available in two versions:

The Basic version makes use of the seaway forecasts from the weather routing provider and data on the ship’s speed, course and route. These data are combined with mass information from the loading computer to supply information on the latest loading condition of a ship and her cargo. A special feature of GL SeaScout is the additional incorporation of data on hydrodynamic loads and exciting wave forces from the hydrodynamic database, which is pre-calculated specifically for the individual ship’s hull. This enables more precise calculations of the ship’s responses to given conditions.

The Premium version additionally integrates enhanced seaway measurements from onboard ship by means of nautical X-band radar and sensor data for motion, acceleration and strains from the Hull Response Monitoring System (HRMS).

In the monitoring mode, GL SeaScout combines all the information gathered to allow continuous monitoring and display of ship responses, possible hazards and their consequences. In the simulation mode, it is possible to enter a change in e.g. speed or course. GL SeaScout then calculates and displays simulated ship responses and warning zones based on the new course and speed. The onboard display of information in the form of a polar or resonance diagram assists officers in choosing a speed and course that are optimised for the individual ship’s hull with respect to the prevailing seaway and loading conditions of the ship.