After reducing close encounter incidents by 25%, the TMS group partners with Orca AI to automate navigation and enhance fleet safety

Orca AI, the developer of the first automated situational awareness platform, has partnered with TMS group to enhance the safety of its fleet. The Orca AI platform has been rolled out across TMS Cardiff Gas’s fleet of 11 LNG Carriers from its 2020-2021 newbuild program, and 9 oil tankers from the TMS Tankers fleet.

TMS group was looking for a solution to enhance its crews’ situational awareness capabilities, with a focus on navigation in congested areas and in low visibility conditions. It also wanted to improve compliance with its safety policy (SMS) and develop further understanding of the navigational challenges that the fleet is facing and how they are managed.

The partnership began in June 2021 and since installation, the TMS Cardiff Gas fleet has reduced the number of its close encounter events by 25% and increased the average minimum distance from other vessels by 19%.

These figures come as the industry faces an increasing number of safety challenges, with AGCS research showing that 75% to 96% of marine accidents involve human error.

By leveraging Orca AI’s automated watchkeeper, TMS crews will gain enhanced situational awareness as well as optimize fleet performance under high-risk navigational scenarios.

The Orca AI platform will connect TMS’s vessels and shore-side operations, enabling fleet management teams to receive actionable insights on vessel performance, identify navigation trends that pose a risk and take preventative actions to make fleet operations more efficient and decrease down-time, whilst guaranteeing timely arrivals.

On the partnership, Mr. Kourelis George, General Manager of TMS Tankers: “As a tanker company, we strive for the highest level of safety. To achieve this goal, we are excited to partner with Orca AI because it enables us minimize our safety risks and avoid potential environmental damage. According to a recent internal survey, more than 90% of our crew finds the Orca AI to be a very user-friendly and useful navigation aid.”

Mr. Alexandros Politis-Kalenteris, Deputy COO of TMS Cardiff Gas added: “Orca AI helps us to take our zero incidents and damage to environment approach to the next level. Our crew members are now able to make better navigational decisions in real-time which reduces the probability of having a safety event. At the same time, our management has greater visibility and understanding of how our vessels operate in high-risk situations and we are able to turn those insights into preventative actions.”

Mr. Yarden Gross, Chief Executive Officer, and co-founder of Orca AI concluded:

“We’re delighted to partner with TMS Tankers and TMS Cardiff Gas to improve their safety performance, and are honored to be part of their journey to be a central player in the shipping industry’s ongoing digital revolution.”