Interview between Adonis Violaris of CSN and Lora Jakobsen, Chief Sustainability Officer, ZeroNorth
Can you provide an overview of ZeroNorth’s mission and its core focus within the maritime industry?
At ZeroNorth, our vision is to make global trade green. Our software is enabling change within the shipping industry by driving efficiencies, optimising operations and enabling collaboration across the value chain for greener, more profitable shipping.
By connecting millions of data points and breaking down the data silos, ZeroNorth’s platform has the potential to act as a single source of truth. This serves as a nexus for collaboration to enable stakeholders across the value chain to confidently align on shared priorities.
How does ZeroNorth’s technology or solution contribute to the decarbonization and energy efficiency goals of the maritime sector?
Together with our customers, we have prevented more than two million metric tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere since January 2022. By analysing vast quantities of data on the platform, ZeroNorth generates recommendations on how to reduce fuel consumption via speed, route and weather optimisation, and minimise, monitor and report on emissions to support organisations’ sustainability goals.
Organisations can, therefore, better predict and forecast performance. Having this insight to support decision making enables operators and charterers to optimise the voyage, vessel, bunker, costs and emissions in a way like never before
What are the key innovations or products that ZeroNorth offers, and how do they address current challenges in the industry related to sustainability and operational performance?
Digitalising operations means that we can connect the entire value chain, from charterers to owners, operators to bunker traders, on a single platform. This single source of truth enables a deeper level of collaboration built on greater data transparency and accuracy.
One example of innovation in the bunker value chain is the introduction of ZeroNorth’s Electronic Bunker Delivery Note (eBDN) to enable swift and secure verification of purchased fuel quantities, eliminating delays and ensuring smooth transactions. Enabling its widespread adoption, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) granted ZeroNorth’s eBDN whitelisting approval after successfully passing comprehensive testing to validate its regulatory compliance functionalities, data accuracy, reliability and security.
ZeroNorth currently serves 56 barges and 10 customers in Singapore, where Golden Island was the first bunker supplier to fully switch to eBDN. Recently, 12 of Vitol Bunkers’ barges also went live in Singapore for supply to its shipping customers. In total, companies using eBDN have completed more than 800 deliveries using the platform and have been able to save, on average, two hours of manual data entry work a day.
What role does collaboration with shipowners, operators, and other industry stakeholders play in ZeroNorth’s strategy for delivering impactful solutions?
We believe that by fostering partnerships and collaboration, we can collectively address shipping’s environmental challenges, promote sustainable practices, and safeguard the marine ecosystem for future generations.
One example of collaboration is my involvement with Energy LEAP where we are working on enabling a greater degree of standardisation in the dry bulk shipping segment. Standardisation underpins the ability for people to collaborate effectively. If everyone is speaking the same language – from a data perspective – we can streamline processes even further. By creating one source of truth on a digital platform, both onshore and offshore crew are able to access the same information. Furthermore, having all the information easily available in the same place allows for a much easier task when it comes to reporting.
What are the main trends or challenges that you observe in the maritime industry, particularly regarding the transition to a more sustainable future, and how is ZeroNorth positioned to address these?
Navigating stringent environmental regulations, such as EU ETS and the upcoming FuelEU Maritime, will be a challenge that companies will have to find innovative ways to comply with.
On top of this, regulations aren’t standardised across the globe. For example, reporting requirements differ whether you’ll be sailing in EU waters or not. This adds layers of reporting complexity particularly for crew onboard and onshore. To navigate this, it’s important to be equipped with the right tools.
High Frequency Data (HFD) on the ZeroNorth platform provides continuous updates on vessel performance, based on data collected via sensors all around the ship. Every nautical detail, including fuel consumption, speed and position, are measured multiple times a minute. This level of data is significant for a single vessel, but it’s when it’s multiplied across a large fleet, that data provides invaluable insight for both emissions’ reduction and profit, so companies can be compliant with new regulations without compromising on profitability.
How does ZeroNorth plan to continue innovating and staying at the forefront of maritime technology, especially in the context of the industry’s decarbonisation efforts?
Digitalisation is the cornerstone of change management in shipping. Over the last few years, it has gone from being an outside concern to a critical focus for every shipping company. While digitalisation has become non-negotiable, not all digital solutions are alike.
For effective digitalisation, companies need data, technology and human expertise. Very few can deploy and capitalise on these three pillars at scale. By joining forces with Alpha Ori Technologies, we have created shipping’s largest optimisation company and a powerhouse in enabling shipping’s digitalisation and decarbonisation transition.
