Vessel performance monitoring software: 7 things to consider

There are some key questions to ask when assessing which vessel performance monitoring platform is the best fit for your fleet. Asking these questions upfront will help you understand whether the platform can tell you a vessel is underperforming, rather than just flagging underperformance with no actionable answers. 

With a performance monitoring platform that shows you which operational behaviours are behind underperformance, or what a hull cleaning or upgrade actually bought you in terms of fuel consumption gains, you’re better equipped to make impactful decisions on a vessel and fleet-wide basis.

Here we share the seven most common questions we’re asked about our vessel performance solution. 

Can Spinergie Operations automate our reporting and stop double data entry?

Your crews and shore teams don’t want more reports and forms to fill in and they don’t want “just another system”. Spinergie digital reporting means the noon or daily progress report (DPR) becomes the only source of entry for manual input and automated sensor or AIS data. Furthermore, Spinergie integrates with software you already use for seamless implementation. 

Spinergie clients have reported that crew time is saved by up to 90% by using our single entry system. This “once and done” approach to data entry places the administrative burden of populating internal KPI dashboards, charterer reports, noon reports, regulatory filings, etc., on the platform with no duplication required from the crew. 

‍How do you handle fuel consumption and efficiency, especially without fuel sensors?

Installing sensor hardware on every vessel in a fleet isn’t always feasible for every operator. Spinergie clients ask how we can accurately model fuel consumption and speed for their vessels, while still giving useful guidance if part, or all, of the fleet isn’t equipped with full sensor packages. Spinergie Operations works as an analytics layer on top of whatever data is available, from standard noon/DPR data through to richer EFMS/VFMS streams.

Vessel owners use the platform to see eco-speed vs best speed, spot inefficient behaviours (overspeeding, long-idling, excessive low-speed steaming), and understand how operations and routing drive fuel consumption. This lets them track performance changes, with additional reinforcement from degradation over time analysis that quantifies fouling and hull conditions, including before/after dry-dock comparisons. 

‍Will Spinergie Operations help our emissions reductions efforts / regulatory compliance (EU MRV, ETS, FuelEU, IMO DCS)

Spinergie Operations is built around a single, operational dataset that can be used for both performance optimisation and emissions tracking. That means the dataset powering your fuel and efficiency analytics is also sent to be verified by your integrated third party provider. 

For shipowners, this turns an often fragmented compliance process into a by-product of day-to-day operations analysis with data cleaned as it enters the system. Spinergie allows you to monitor performance and emissions in one place, and export what you need for regulatory schemes and internal decarbonisation targets. 

‍How quickly can we find the vessel performance answers that we need?

Spinergie Operations has ready-made dashboards designed for commercial, fleet logistics and operations teams, not just data specialists. You don’t need to build complex BI models (unless you want to), as the platform will immediately show your analytics within a few clicks. You’ll be able to quickly see which vessels and voyages perform best, where time and fuel are being lost, and how that impacts cost and emissions. 

This data allows shipowners to answer practical questions like:

• Which assets should we deploy and where?
• Where are we losing efficiency?
• How do we compare across projects?

All of these answers are at your fingertips without stitching together multiple reports in Excel. 

‍Will our crews actually use Spinergie Operations, or is it just another system?

Spinergie is designed around the data your crews already produce. Masters and officers continue to submit noon reports or DPRs in familiar formats while the platform does the heavy lifting on capturing, standardising and augmenting the data. 

Onboard touchpoints are kept simple with a minimal learning curve. This means crews have clearer expectations with fewer follow-up questions. Meanwhile, shore crews benefit from higher-quality, consistent data they can trust and reuse. 

‍Does Spinergie Operations integrate planning, operations, and performance?

Spinergie Operations connects planned voyages and marine operations with the data from actual execution, giving planning, commercial and operations teams a shared view of planned vs actual in one place. Schedules, voyages and operational logs sit on the same timeline, so you can see how plans translate into reality and adjust assumptions for future projects. 

This integration means weekly or monthly performance reviews can be run directly from the platform, and lessons learned can be fed back into the planning process, without exporting and reconciling multiple data points. 

‍Can we use Spinergie Operations to benchmark vessels, captains and vendors?

Within your own fleet, Spinergie Operations lets you benchmark vessel and voyage performance to identify best-in-class assets and those that are lagging. Owners use this to inform investment decisions, maintenance priorities and crew training. 

The offshore sector benefits from additional insights through Spinergie Intelligence. With this layer you gain an external perspective on vessels, projects, and supply chains, which helps you compare your performance to peers, understand where you’re ahead or behind the market, and make more confidence chartering and vendor decisions. 

‍None of these questions have a “right” answer, but they will have a right answer for your business depending on your fleet mix, sensor coverage, and how much you’d rather perform manually. 

Spinergie Operations is built around distinctions. With a baseline-driven performance view it tracks any deterioration against the vessel’s own best historical performance. This gives you the data you need to adjust behaviours in real-time and maximise the benefits.

Ready to talk about it? Contact us to arrange your personalised demo.