Japanese company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) Line has begun full-scale operations of an AI-based system that automates and optimises car carrier allocation planning.

The AI-based car carrier allocation system, jointly created in collaboration with MTI and Grid, was deployed at NYK in July this year.

The system is designed to analyse millions of possible shipping schedules for several months ahead to produce an optimal plan with up to “millions of options” in about “ten minutes”, explains NYK.

It considers customer requirements, fleet status, ship repair schedules, port congestion information to optimise key performance indicators such as “vessel utilisation, transport efficiency, and transport costs”.

NYK manages a fleet of more than 100 car carriers.

According to the Japanese company, planning ship allocation has traditionally required manual evaluation of multiple conditions for hundreds of voyages months in advance.

The new system structures and organises the data and decision factors involved in shipping and scheduling to improve planning accuracy and efficiency, stated NYK.

It also incorporates criteria related to the use of “next-generation” fuel ships and carbon pricing. This approach targets reductions in greenhouse gas emissions alongside operational efficiency and sustainability, said NYK.

In a statement, NYK said: “Our joint efforts aim to foster technological innovation and environmental responsiveness, thereby contributing to the realisation of a more sustainable society.”

In February this year, a consortium led by NYK received approval-in-principle (AiP) from ClassNK, a ship classification society, for an ammonia-fuelled bunkering vessel.

The design, developed by LMG Marin, a subsidiary of Singaporean shipbuilder Seatrium, will undergo further evaluation by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

In same month, NYK launched a biofuel trial on its coal carrier, the Noshiro Maru, in collaboration with Tohoku Electric Power.

This marks Japan's first biofuel test on a coal carrier, with Mitsubishi Corporation Energy supplying the biofuel for the trial in the Keihin area.