Ship Efficiency Monitoring, Weather Forecasting and Optimised Routing Service

In 2018, CO2 emissions from total shipping have increased to over 1 000 million tonnes. ESA-sponsored SEMAFORS aims to use satellite communications, GNSS and meteorological data for optimised shipping routes to reduce fuel costs, improve safety and reduce emissions.

Source: International Maritime Organization IMO

Based on GMES, SatCom and GNSS, SEMAFORS is a user focused project in support of the shipping industry. SEMAFORS will integrate actual measured vessel performance, forecasted weather and accurate tidal and ocean current data obtained from space and terrestrial systems to optimise the voyage to reduce fuel costs, improve safety and reduce emissions. The primary objective of SEMAFORS is to demonstrate that the SEMAFORS concept can be delivered meeting the needs of the shipping industry at an affordable price. Additionally, SEMAFORS aims to show that ocean sea currents can be forecast accurately enough to allow their use in routing and that data from shipping can be used in evaluating and improving ocean current forecasts.