The Isle of Man Steam Packet’s flagship vessel Manxman has implemented a new digital system in collaboration with a software services provider.

‘NAPA’, which is based in Finland, has installed and completed final inspection of its full suite of stability management, emergency decision support, electronic logbooks, data reporting and integration systems onto the Manxman.

The digital platforms look to provide crews and ashore teams with safety and situational information to ensure the vessel’s safe operations on its journey’s between Heysham and Douglas.

Under the agreement between the Steam Packet and NAPA (a global provider of maritime software), the company installed its ‘loading computer’ to the Manxman in order to provide stability in all sea conditions, while also using analytics to help optimise cargo and deadweight management.

A spokesperson from NAPA said: ‘To add to the “loading computer”, NAPA’s advanced “emergency computer” also enables the continuous monitoring of vulnerability and risk levels, and delivers survivability assessments in case of damage.

‘This will provide crews onboard and their colleagues ashore with critical insights, in real time, to support decision-making on regular operations. It will also ensure a swift and coordinated response, with direct cloud-based information sharing with emergency response services, in case of an emergency.

‘With seamless data sharing between systems, teams can make better-informed decisions on critical matters of stability, emergency response and compliance, with greater speed and accuracy.

‘These synergies across systems also minimize duplication of work, ease reporting and save teams valuable time which can then be redirected to more critical functions, such as navigation.’

James Royston, fleet operations manager at the Steam Packet, said: ‘Our new flagship Manxman was built with sustainability and efficiency at its very core. Being able to balance this ambition with the need to ensure the safety of our passengers and crews at all times is vital.

‘Smart digital systems are at the heart of this, empowering our teams with the best possible real-time information and efficient processes to reduce the environmental footprint of our voyages.

‘This partnership with NAPA is a game changer on two fronts: it will help us reduce workloads for our seafarers, but also gain an unprecedented level of data-based insight to deliver safer and more efficient operations.’