ABB Collaborative Ops Centre opens in China

The centre supports the shipping industry’s journey towards digitalisation and ultimately safer and more efficient vessel operations.

“We are living through one of the most exciting periods in the history of the maritime industry where digitalisation and connectivity are becoming predominant,” said Alf- Kåre Ådnanes, Head of Hub Business Unit Marine & Ports China.

“The ABB Ability Collaborative Operations Center allows us to better serve these vessels and their operators with the latest digital services, driving further progress for efficient and reliable operations.”

Global setup

The new Shanghai centre will monitor data gathered by sensors onboard ships and sent ashore by satellite, allowing ABB experts to remotely analyse equipment performance, troubleshoot and diagnose as well as work on maintenance planning and fleet benchmarking.

It will work in conjunction with Collaborative Operations Centers in Norway (Billingstad), Finland (Helsinki), the Netherlands (Dalfsen), Italy (Genoa), the USA (Miami) and Singapore, to support vessels on a 24/7 basis.

This global setup means that ABB specialists are available during their daytime working hours, no matter what the location of the ship or when assistance is sought. ABB said the new Shanghai centre is a crucial part of the assistance global map, offering real-time support in both Chinese and English.

ABB is already remotely monitoring more than 700 ships and aims to raise that number to 3,000 by 2020.