Two years since the official launch of The Signal Ocean Platform at Posidonia 2018, Signal reflects on its recent milestones and unveils its plans for the future.
Since its launch, Signal’s platform has continued evolving and now tracks more than 30,000 unique ships across all bulk-shipping segments and all global trades. Market coverage has been recently extended to smaller crude tanker segments – down to Handies – while coverage for clean tankers and gas carriers is being fine-tuned. In addition, a Dry Bulk module is now in BETA testing. Finally, the platform now offers a new and exciting suite of analytical reports and new ways to export and interact with the underlying data.
“We are very proud of how quickly our solution for the larger crude oil tankers caught on. More than 70 of the world’s most significant players, including oil majors, traders, brokers and shipowners are using us to track global freight markets daily. We want to offer a comprehensive solution for the shipping industry, so we have been hard at work to increase our coverage. Our technology actually helps us do this efficiently, but our clients and partners have been indispensable, too,” said Signal’s COO, Dimitris Tsapoulis.
The Signal Maritime Aframax Pool launched in July 2018 as an independent part of the Signal Group. Licensing the software like any other client, Signal Maritime has showcased the kind of impact this type of technology can have on performance. The Pool has consistently produced top daily earnings (TCE) performance globally and has grown to include 27 vessels from 13 pool partners. The pool’s expansion occurred both organically and through a partnership with Heidmar in January 2020. The Signal Pool is now one of the largest Aframax pools in the world and offers flexibility for entry and exit, a novel approach, in addition to leading performance..
Strategic Partnership and Dry Bulk segment
In addition to its presence in the tanker market, Signal has keenly pursued its expansion into the Dry Bulk segment. Signal accelerated its efforts significantly in October 2019 with the completion of a strategic partnership with Simpson Spence Young, the largest private brokerage company in the world. The Signal Ocean Platform Dry Bulk module is now being BETA tested by select market participants and will become widely available later in the year.
Entrepreneur-in-Residence
To further support Signal’s push into the Dry Commodities space, the company has also appointed a new Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Alexandre Claude. Alexandre Claude is the former managing director of SaaS energy platform CSN Energy. He also previously worked for Vattenfall and Freepoint Commodities.
“We’re delighted to welcome an expert of Alex’s caliber to the Signal family. We are always keen to find individuals or teams who will join us on our mission to discover high-impact technology that will help shape the future of commercial shipping,” said Signal’s CEO, Ioannis Martinos.
This is a proven model for innovation: in 2017, Signal Ocean partnered with crude oil expert analyst, Florian Thaler, another Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who leveraged Signal’s environment and solution to incubate oil data analytics company OilX. OilX has recently raised a funding round from investors such as Citigroup and GS Caltex. In addition, it is backed by the European Space Agency and continues to steadily gain user adoption in the oil trading space.
Post COVID-19 landscape
During the time of disruption and tremendous economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, Signal achieved one of its most productive and creative periods, quickly adapting to the realities of remote work. In fact, The Signal Ocean Platform itself has played a significant role in this, for us and for many of our clients, through its collaboration and communication enhancing features.
Signal has also continued to grow and enrich its highly diversified team. More than thirty new hires have joined since the beginning of the year, bringing our total group headcount to 121. A large part of the new hires were added after March 2020 in a range of roles from commercial ship management to data science and engineering.
Regular updates on The Signal Group can be found on its LinkedIn page.
Creating a sustainable world requires us to embark on a journey towards a zero emission future, where every step is a commitment to preserve our planet for future generations.
Albert Greenway
Environmental Scientist, Sustainability Expert
Increased Use of Renewable Energy:
Shipping companies are embracing renewable energy sources to power onboard systems and reduce emissions during port operations. Solar panels and wind turbines are being installed on vessels to generate clean energy, reducing reliance on auxiliary engines, and cutting down emissions. Shore power facilities in ports allow ships to connect to the electrical grid, eliminating the need for onboard generators while docked.
Collaboration and Industry Partnerships:
Recognizing that addressing emissions requires collective action, shipping companies, governments, and organizations have formed partnerships and collaborations. These initiatives focus on research and development, sharing best practices, and promoting knowledge transfer. Joint projects aim to develop and deploy innovative technologies, improve infrastructure, and create a supportive regulatory framework to accelerate the industry's transition towards a greener future. The Zero Emission Shipping - Mission Innovation.
To pave the way for a greener future in shipping, the availability of alternative fuels plays a vital role in their widespread adoption. However, this availability is influenced by factors such as port infrastructure, local regulations, and government policies. As the demand for cleaner fuels in shipping rises and environmental regulations become more stringent, efforts are underway to improve the accessibility of these fuels through infrastructure development, collaborations, and investments in production facilities.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) infrastructure has seen significant growth in recent years, resulting in more LNG bunkering facilities and LNG-powered vessels. Nonetheless, the availability of LNG as a marine fuel can still vary depending on the region. To ensure consistent availability worldwide, there is a need for further development of LNG supply chains and infrastructure. For biofuels, their availability hinges on production capacity and the availability of feedstock. Although biofuels are being produced and utilized in various sectors, their availability as a marine fuel remains limited. Scaling up biofuel production and establishing robust supply chains are imperative to ensure wider availability within the shipping industry.Hydrogen, as a fuel for maritime applications, is still in the early stages of infrastructure development. While some hydrogen vessels have been tested or introduced in the first quarter of last year, the infrastructure required for hydrogen production and distribution needs further advancement.
Ammonia, as a marine fuel, currently faces limitations in availability. The production, storage, and handling infrastructure for ammonia need further development to support its widespread use in the shipping industry.Methanol, on the other hand, is already a commercially available fuel and has been used as a blend with conventional fuels in some ships. However, its availability as a standalone marine fuel can still be limited in certain regions. Bureau Veritas in October 2022 published a White Paper for the Alternative Fuels Outlook. This white paper provides a comprehensive overview of alternative fuels for the shipping industry, taking into account key factors such as technological maturity, availability, safety, emissions, and regulations.
Creating a sustainable world requires us to embark on a journey towards a zero emission future, where every step is a commitment to preserve our planet for future generations.
Albert Greenway
Environmental Scientist, Sustainability Expert
Increased Use of Renewable Energy:
Shipping companies are embracing renewable energy sources to power onboard systems and reduce emissions during port operations. Solar panels and wind turbines are being installed on vessels to generate clean energy, reducing reliance on auxiliary engines, and cutting down emissions. Shore power facilities in ports allow ships to connect to the electrical grid, eliminating the need for onboard generators while docked.
Collaboration and Industry Partnerships:
Recognizing that addressing emissions requires collective action, shipping companies, governments, and organizations have formed partnerships and collaborations. These initiatives focus on research and development, sharing best practices, and promoting knowledge transfer. Joint projects aim to develop and deploy innovative technologies, improve infrastructure, and create a supportive regulatory framework to accelerate the industry's transition towards a greener future. The Zero Emission Shipping - Mission Innovation.
To pave the way for a greener future in shipping, the availability of alternative fuels plays a vital role in their widespread adoption. However, this availability is influenced by factors such as port infrastructure, local regulations, and government policies. As the demand for cleaner fuels in shipping rises and environmental regulations become more stringent, efforts are underway to improve the accessibility of these fuels through infrastructure development, collaborations, and investments in production facilities.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) infrastructure has seen significant growth in recent years, resulting in more LNG bunkering facilities and LNG-powered vessels. Nonetheless, the availability of LNG as a marine fuel can still vary depending on the region. To ensure consistent availability worldwide, there is a need for further development of LNG supply chains and infrastructure. For biofuels, their availability hinges on production capacity and the availability of feedstock. Although biofuels are being produced and utilized in various sectors, their availability as a marine fuel remains limited. Scaling up biofuel production and establishing robust supply chains are imperative to ensure wider availability within the shipping industry.Hydrogen, as a fuel for maritime applications, is still in the early stages of infrastructure development. While some hydrogen vessels have been tested or introduced in the first quarter of last year, the infrastructure required for hydrogen production and distribution needs further advancement.
Ammonia, as a marine fuel, currently faces limitations in availability. The production, storage, and handling infrastructure for ammonia need further development to support its widespread use in the shipping industry.Methanol, on the other hand, is already a commercially available fuel and has been used as a blend with conventional fuels in some ships. However, its availability as a standalone marine fuel can still be limited in certain regions. Bureau Veritas in October 2022 published a White Paper for the Alternative Fuels Outlook. This white paper provides a comprehensive overview of alternative fuels for the shipping industry, taking into account key factors such as technological maturity, availability, safety, emissions, and regulations.
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