How port arrival estimating and routing intelligence help dry bulk shippers in a tight market

Ship port arrival data has become less accurate across the maritime industry and this decline is largely due to incomplete arrival reporting and heavy traffic on transport networks. Vessel ETA predictions and routing guidance are especially critical for the dry-bulk shipping market that has weathered a slow start to 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now navigating low freight rates.

As worldwide dry bulk shippers begin to build volume to meet increased demand, dry bulk shipping operations need fine-tuned port selections and better port ETA estimates to maximize ship availability, optimize crew members, and schedule port services. Increased vessel congestion and delays have led to the need for greater location transparency and more reliable data to schedule port services.

Controlling your port arrival is a key economic issue and a common challenge across the maritime industry. With this in mind, we are releasing new features for Predict AI routing which is available in our premium subscription. We also optimized Predict AI routing to include port matching for the dry bulk industry. A reliable port ETA allows for an economic route to be planned and gives you control over logistical operations needed at ports. You can schedule all of your port activities ahead of time and rely on the accuracy of our ETA features.

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These features bring value to maritime operations in the areas of monitoring and predicting when a vessel is likely to arrive at its destination and be available for commercial services. Accurately timing your route and port arrival is important when building more efficient maritime operations to ensure lower operating costs. Vessel reported ETAs are not always entered and are oftentimes not updated after an adjusted ETA is known. The Predict AI routing premium features show a ship’s actual arrival at a port allowing companies to make commercial decisions based on real-time data.

Maritime operations can use Predict AI routing’s premium features to determine if a ship will arrive at a port in time to meet its contractual obligations, like its lay dates for chartered vessels, as well as arrive on time to meet a scheduled berthing slot and book port supply services.

Reliable nautical port arrival information is accurate, efficient, and sustainable. Good port arrival information means that all information is consistent, up to date, complete, and most importantly, it helps you achieve your business goals. Since vessels report their destination port through AIS static voyage messages as free text values, these messages are inconsistent and entries vary per user.

To overcome these challenges, Spire uses the recognized international code which is the United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations (UN/LOCODE) providing port arrival information that is accurate and reliable and allows for efficient planning and operational efficiencies.

Spire Maritime ETA data allows you to optimize route calculations and refine ETA forecasting, so you can run the most efficient operations possible and avoid late fees, cost overruns due to unplanned delays, and mitigate risk. Predict AI’s machine learning model uses previous ship positions to produce accurate port ETAs, which prove to be more accurate than AIS reported ETAs and is closer to the actual port arrival times.

An added benefit of port ETA reliability is keeping your partners apprised of your deliverables timeline and building trust through transparent operations.

At Spire, we are always improving how maritime data is collected, analyzed, and delivered. We offer comprehensive AIS data and our easy to use APIs provide predictive functionality as we constantly build and update intelligent machine-learning algorithms that detect vessel locations and ETAs.

Accurate ETA at your fingertips

Our new, premium features for Predict AI provide our customers with ETA and port arrival predictions via an easy to use API visualized geographically per region or dry bulk port. These accurate ETA predictions help you build improved operations as you reduce the costs associated with shipping and port operations. Read our case study comparing AIS ETA’s and Predict-AI ETA’s.

Want to know more?

We offer a one-stop shop for maritime data analytics. Our customers are companies who want best-in-class maritime domain awareness and state-of-the-art vessel tracking. Contact us and let us know what you need and we can set up a meeting that works with your schedule or send you the information you want via email. Other resources you might find useful:

• Try our free Port-ETA-Routing Calculator now to see our data in action
• Visit our Developer’s page for more information on our APIs