Dive Brief:
- Maersk Line inked a deal with Big Ocean Data on Monday to track its roughly 630 owned and chartered vessels real-time via satellite, according to a press release.
- In addition to the tracking services, Big Ocean Data offers navigation and security data, least-risk routing capabilities and historical analytics services in its mobile- and desktop-optimized web platform.
- Big Ocean Data was launched in February 2016 by Globavista, a vessel tracking and monitoring provider, boasting the platform's innovative use of Satellite AIS data for tracking and easy integration with other systems or data feeds.
Dive Insight:
Big Ocean Data's remarkable success in signing Maersk Line despite less than nine-months in operation is symbolic of the growing demand for supply chain visibility and data integration within Transportation Management Systems.
Web-based platforms allow for rapid adoption for both shippers and carriers and permit mobile access for the operators within vessels and throughout various facilities. Meanwhile, the platform repurposes a decade-old technology — AIS signals are typically used to transmit to ports and nearby vessels — for satellite tracking, further decreasing implementation costs since most ships already use the technology.
Such savings on implementation are not lost during cost-benefit analyses, particularly as the shipping industry faces fiscal difficulties. Big Ocean Data is not the only company providing AIS-based tracking platforms, although the Maersk contract will certainly raise the company's profile.
