Shipping Technology Launches ST Brain Lite Digitization for Chartered Inland Vessels
Shipping Technology, the Rotterdam-based inland shipping technology company, is launching ST Brain Lite, a compact, easy-to-install onboard intelligence unit that brings real-time data connectivity to chartered vessels. Inland shipping container operator Danser Group is the product's launching customer, deploying the units across the chartered ships on its Limburg Express container liner service.
The challenge
Shipping Technology already connects approximately 380 inland vessels with its full ST Brain platform. These range from tankers and container barges to river cruise ships (on which the company is experimenting with full autonomous sailing). However, a large segment of the market has remained out of reach: chartered ships.
In terms of digitalization, chartered ships present a specific challenge: they are sometimes older vessels for which a full digital installation is either technically complex or economically unfeasible.
In addition, many operators depend on manual processes such as phone calls, WhatsApp messages, emails and spreadsheets to track vessel locations, cargo status, arrival times and fuel consumption. As such, the crews on these ships are responsible for a substantial administrative burden, manually relaying information that operators need for planning and reporting.
Danser Group, however, has already partially automated these processes. The company manages eight owned vessels, and relies on an additional 70 chartered ships to operate its liner services. To manage this fleet efficiently, they now take this approach even further by installing the ST Brain Lite fleetwide.
ST Brain Lite
ST Brain Lite is a small onboard computer that connects to the vessel's existing systems—GPS, AlS, loading systems and, where applicable, tank monitoring or container stowage software—and transmits data in real time. Not only to a secure cloud dashboard but directly into the operators' system as well. The unit requires no complex integrations and is designed to be installed by the crew themselves, with remote activation support from Shipping Technology's office team.
Ship owners retain control over which parties receive access to their vessel's data. What's more, ship owners whose vessels are equipped with ST Brain Lite by an operator can choose to subsequently invest in ST Brain full version or ST Sailing (comprising Shipping Technology's Autonomous Lane Assist and Collision Detection solutions) to expand on the digital infrastructure already in place on board.
The data package captured by ST Brain Lite covers two core areas:
- Vessel position and planning data: location, speed, and estimated time of arrival, enabling operators to accurately manage fleet movements.
- Fuel consumption and emissions data: supporting sustainability reporting and enabling au vessels calling at Rotterdam to qualify for a 5% port fee discount through the Green Award emission certification scheme.
