en.Wedoany.com Reported - During the Posidonia exhibition, DNV launched version 2.0 of the Steel Load Planner (SLP), which integrates artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to generate optimized stowage plans and perform structural assessments within five minutes. Its scope has been expanded from bulk carriers to general cargo ships and multipurpose vessels, achieving automated stowage planning for steel coils for the first time.
Steel coils are among the most common minor bulk cargoes in maritime transport, yet they are also the most complex cargo type to plan due to variations in size, weight, and stowage behavior. Against the backdrop of limited capacity, constraints on new shipbuilding, and rising regulatory costs related to emissions, optimizing cargo-carrying capacity has become a key factor in the competitiveness of shipowners and operators.
The new version of the Steel Load Planner builds on a tool launched in 2023, which won the IT Solutions Award at the International Bulk Journal Awards. SLP V2.0 automates planning tasks that previously required significant manual intervention and specialized expertise. Users only need to input vessel data and steel coil dimensions; the system identifies the structurally strongest and weakest areas, optimizes support distribution and cargo positioning, and automatically generates a stowage plan.
Morten Løvstad, Global Vice President and Head of DNV Maritime Bulk Carrier Business, stated that the primary user demand is to increase cargo-carrying capacity without compromising safety standards. SLP V2.0 enables shipowners to transport more cargo while meeting structural compliance constraints. The expansion to new vessel types and faster response times are significant for the industry.
The tool has been tested by shipowner Belships AS, which operates a fleet of 39 Ultramax vessels equipped with cranes. Belships AS highlighted the speed of stowage plan generation and the possibility of making operational decisions with integrated structural assessments and immediate documentation support.
SLP V2.0 features a single-page dashboard providing a comprehensive overview of the stowage plan, including steel coil distribution across each cargo hold, transport quantity, total weight, and center of gravity position, facilitating integration with onboard stowage computers. The platform supports mixed stowage configurations and unconventional arrangements, enabling better utilization of cargo hold space. It also includes options to increase capacity under specific operating conditions, such as considering smaller dynamic accelerations for short voyages in calmer sea states, as well as recording and identifying coating and corrosion levels to utilize up to 50% of the available corrosion margin.
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