Samsung develops SORAS

Samsung Heavy Industries has developed SORAS (Samsung Optimum Routing Assessment System), a system that will give safer routing for ships while also saving fuel. It took 3 years to develop SORAS and is currently undergoing evaluation tests onboard a container ship. A simulation carried out on a 103,000DWT tanker sailing from Tokyo to Los Angeles, the distance traveled was is increased by 70 km to 7,754 km compared with existing shortest route. However, sailing time is reduced from 297 hours to 294 hours resulting in a fuel savings of 15 tonnes. Samsung claims that the optimum route selected by SORAS reduced fuel consumption amounting to a saving of $10,000 on a trans-pacific round trip.