Greek shipping group TMS Group has turned to Israel-based software company Orca AI 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.

The partnership began in June 2021. 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.

“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," said Alexandros Politis-Kalenteris, deputy COO of TMS Cardiff Gas.

"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.”

By leveraging Orca AI’s automated watchkeeper, TMS crews gained enhanced situational awareness as well as optimised fleet performance under high-risk navigational scenarios, according to the company.

“We’re delighted to partner with TMS Tankers and TMS Cardiff Gas to improve their safety performance, and are honoured to be part of their journey to be a central player in the shipping industry’s ongoing digital revolution,” said Yarden Gross, CEO and co-founder of Orca AI.

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 downtime, whilst guaranteeing timely arrivals.