Marine operations in a digital world

How the UAB-Online SaaS platform is optimising marine operations for liquid bulk handling for sea-going and inland vessels

DUTCH-BASED liquid bulk handling specialist UAB-Online is sure that the time and cost savings its software brings to North European trades can be replicated on the international high seas. In fact, the firm is gearing itself up to dominate this market. These may be tough goals to achieve, but discussions to expand the UAB-Online SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) application system to the sector have already started; with interested parties in the ports of Houston, US and Singapore. UAB-Online’s digitised platform is recognised as the standard for liquid bulk handling by more than 60 inland and sea-going terminals in The Netherlands and Belgium. With a combined near 2,800 active ships, coupled with their supporting surveyors, agents and charterers, all have benefited from lower costs and shorter overall port stays.

DIGITAL LOADING AND UNLOADING

It is all down to digitised planning of the liquid bulk loading and unloading process at the pre-arrival and arrival stages. By digitally preparing, signing and dispatching the necessary pre-arrival documentation, all elements of the process are made more efficient. Hans Bobeldijk, UAB-Online CEO, explains: ‘By employing our digitised solutions, terminals can reduce the amount of time vessels spend at the berth by undertaking many of the loading and unloading procedures prior to arrival. The reduced wait times and port stays can save up to 90 minutes per vessel and dramatically reduce the levels of greenhouse gas emissions at terminals.’ The platform offers an online real-time file that is accessible to all relevant stakeholders, with all the required information and documentation necessary to prepare and complete the maritime loading and unloading operation at the terminal. The collaborative nature of the platform connects other stakeholders including surveyors, agents, charterers and traders who have real-time access to the digital announcement of the vessels. It has all been designed and optimised around customer needs, in co-creation with the terminals involved. The reduced port stay times, which significantly cut engine CO2 and NOx emissions, and the more than 400 active safety checks that need to be completed on the digitalised platform, ensure the arrival process is safer and more efficient. This saves time, money and resources that would otherwise be required to complete the lengthy administrative and operational procedures. The solutionsbased platform is fully compliant with the International Safety Guide for Oil Tankers and Terminals (ISGOTT 6) checklist, and is a highly efficient, streamlined and more sustainable operation. Bobeldijk says: ‘In the AmsterdamRotterdam-Antwerp range (ARA) where our systems are the standard, the terminal requests the vessel to announce via UABOnline, after which the vessel can fill out and start sharing pre-arrival information with the terminal well before berthing.’

GLOBAL EXPANSION

‘With UAB-Online seen as the uniform process in Northern Europe and with many of our customers making port calls in other parts of the world, developing operations into the deep-sea markets of Singapore and Houston was a logical next step for us,’ says Bobeldijk. ‘While we may be seen as a new player in those markets, we have been perfecting our application since 2010. So we’re not new, just new to them. The old player in the market is traditional paperwork or the electronic PDF that needs to be filled in. This throws up its own set of challenges because we want to change the whole process, the mindset, not just convert a paper document to a pdf. Digitising the process is where you derive the efficiencies.’

FUTURE OF DIGITALISATION

‘We see it on a larger scale where vessel owners and terminals start to realise massive savings in time and resources by shifting the preparatory phase from a physical phase onboard to a digitised prearrival procedure,’ continues Bobeldijk. UAB-Online works closely with its stakeholders to continuously improve the application and to focus on safely managing the loading and unloading operation by simplifying and making the administrative process smoother, more reliable, efficient and compliant. The sustainability benefits of reduced engine emissions running for shorter berthing times is also significant, and a vital consideration for an industry being asked to achieve net zero targets by 2050. The revision of ISGOTT 6 regulations will be the driving force behind the need for greater digitalisation of liquid bulk handling. And what about the ambitions for these two new important markets? ’We will be working hard to make our target audience familiar with our great product solutions for maritime shipping and establish UAB-Online as the standard in Houston and Singapore, with a view to establishing and strengthening our presence in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East,’ says Bobeldijk. He continues: ‘The platform has been developed to satisfy and support true customer needs in co-creation with the terminals involved. And as sustainability and digitalisation become ever more critical across every sector, UAB-Online is ready to support maritime.’

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For more information: www.uab-online.com/en.

01 Hans Bobeldijk, CEO, UAB-Online