Wärtsilä Voyage and Japan based Weathernews (WNI) have announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement which will enable the integration of WNI’s weather forecasting data and Optimum Ship Routing (OSR) service with Wärtsilä’s products and solutions.

By automating navigation and route planning functions with weather avoidance technology, owners can reduce risks and allow seafarers to concentrate on other operational requirements, Wärtsilä said in a prepared statement. WNI, described as the world’s largest private weather routing provider, currently supports around 10,000 vessels worldwide using a number of risk communicators and meteorologists to deliver advanced weather forecasting.

“Sailing through bad weather has numerous downsides. Fuel consumption increases, schedules can be compromised and containers can be lost overboard. By having the fastest and most accurate advance warning of weather situations integrated into our navigational and voyage systems, these losses can be avoided. This is why this agreement with WNI is so important,” commented Kay Dausendschoen, head of product, Fleet Operations Solutions & Optimization, Wärtsilä Voyage.

Under this agreement, WNI’s forecasting models can be integrated, for example, into Wärtsilä’s Fleet Operations Solution (FOS), automatically optimizing a ship’s route by providing the fullest and latest voyage data, at the same time keeping both onboard and shore-based personnel informed and notified, according to company information. With the addition of frequent state-of-the-art weather information, FOS can be even more effective in increasing navigational safety, reducing fuel consumption, and optimizing the voyage leg.

“We look forward to developing winning solutions in line with our shared goal to make shipping safer and more sustainable,” said Henrik Faurschou, global product and market strategy leader at WNI.

Another Wärtsilä solution, which the company said is likely to be enhanced via this agreement is NaviPlanner, its voyage planning and optimization system, which is connected through the ship’s electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS). Advanced weather forecasting will also be incorporated into future sustainable systems and innovative solutions developed through the collaboration between Wärtsilä and WNI.

The partnership is expected to result in additional features, such as route overlays and charts, being developed once the WNI weather service has been fully integrated into the Wärtsilä systems. The aim is to boost safer navigation and reduce fuel consumption, which in turn will lessen emission levels and aid shipping’s decarbonization ambitions.