Advanced NAPA Stability for Ferries enhances operational safety and efficiency with a cloud-based digital solution that enables faster, more intuitive, and reliable voyage and cargo management.
Maritime software provider NAPA has formally launched NAPA Stability for Ferries, with installations confirmed on seven Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) vessels and ongoing sea trials with Tallink Silja Line. The new onboard stability solution is designed to meet the unique operational needs of the ferry segment, from maintaining safe loading conditions on tight schedules and constant cargo changes to the need for data transparency and ship-to-shore communication. Together, these features will help improve fleet safety and efficiency.
NAPA Stability for Ferries responds to a growing demand in the ferry sector for advanced stability solutions that account for fast and frequent loading and unloading, multiple arrivals and departures daily, route-specific challenges, sustainability, reporting and compliance, as well as cargo management. The new cargo loading feature, for example, helps make stability and loading calculations faster, easier and more reliable for better safety and time savings, despite tight schedules.
GNV is one of the first ferry operators to onboard seven vessels to NAPA Stability, while Tallink Silja Line is trialling applications of the solution on Silja Serenade, and Baltic Queen in Q2 2024. This marks the expansion into the ferry segment of the advanced stability software, which is already installed onboard 69 cruise vessels, with additional features tailored to fast-paced ferry operations.
NAPA Stability is an onboard system which can connect to the shoreside with the cloud-data platform, NAPA Fleet Intelligence, allowing the continuous monitoring and dynamic adjustment of the ship’s stability parameters in real-time by crew and shoreside teams alike. This enables enhanced operational efficiency and better-informed decision-making for safe and smooth voyages. The data underpinning the technology is based on NAPA’s accurate 3D modelling, which accounts for the ship’s unique design, and uses this to cover a wide range of calculations related to hydrostatics, intact stability, damage stability, and longitudinal strength. Real-time access to stability data gives shoreside teams and crew a clearer picture of their current loading condition. This helps assess risks on an ongoing basis and provides better communication of vital information which, ultimately, supports faster response in an emergency.
Markus Tompuri, Chief Stability Officer, Safety Solutions, NAPA, said: “NAPA Stability for Ferries is our answer to the sector’s growing safety and efficiency challenges. The advanced solution brings the best of stability management, fine-tuned for ferry operations, allowing them to tap into a wealth of insights tailored to their unique requirements. Working in collaboration with industry leaders also ensures we’re building a solution that not only meets their operational objectives but also supports critical decision making, often on a time crunch.”
Davide Orecchia, Chief Technical Officer at GNV, added: “The safety of our passengers is our utmost priority. Working with NAPA gives us the peace of mind that we are maintaining the industry’s highest standards to keep our ferries operating safely and smoothly, while also unlocking data insights to improve the efficiency of our fleet and teams. With dynamic new cargo loading features, and real-time shipboard stability data available onshore via cloud services, our onboard and shoreside teams can communicate and collaborate like never before.”
Clas-Johann Westen, Technical Superintendent at Tallink Silja Line, commented: “We have been actively engaged in the evolution of the NAPA Stability software, previously known as NAPA Loading Computer, for over two decades. We are pleased to have contributed to the development of its latest iteration. Building upon the same dependable platform and delivering calculation results validated by over 100,000 successful departure conditions across our fleet over the years, our commitment to reliability remains unwavering. With its contemporary interface and enhanced functionality, we assure precision in results and ease of adoption for operators as they prepare for departures, ushering in a new era of efficiency and confidence.
