Digital Ship

Online vessel valuing service launchedDigital ShipDNV releases bunker fuel analytics toolwww.sea-sure.co.ukLondon-based shipbroker Seasurehas announced the launch ofVesselsValue.com (VV), an online servicethat provides automated data-drivenvaluations for commercial vessels.Seasure says that the software cancalculate real time market values forbulkers and tankers from 29,500 dwtand bulkers from 20,000 dwt upwards,processing the global fleet using allcomparable sales, adjusting for salerecency, ship specifications and changesin freight earnings.The valuation process employs statisticalmodels, computational algorithms, adatabase of ships and sales as well asmarket information.The service offers functionality toinclude portfolios, e-mail alerts andinteractive charts, and a mobile versionfor Blackberry, iPhone and Android hasbeen produced.In addition to the launch of the websiteSeasure has further introduced its ownindices, to act as synoptic indicators ofvessel values with the aim of providing ageneral picture of the state of the saleand purchase market rather than specificinformation about any one vessel orvessel type.The VV Indices are measured in unitswhich Seasure claims have a realeconomic meaning.The company says that many indicesare set to an arbitrary value (usually 100or 1,000) on a particular date, with allsubsequent values relative to the value onthis date. This means that they reflectmarket movements and not the absolutevalues of the underlying assets theyrepresent.Seasure’s aim is to offer indices representingthe intrinsic value of cargo-carryingcapacity, denominated in US dollarsper deadweight tonne.For each vessel type (VLCC, Capesize,etc.) all vessels in the global database arevalued, and the value per deadweighttonne for each build year is calculated.These annual figures are averaged toform an index for the type.Partitioning by build year is done sothat the type index is not influenced byorderbook considerations, for example,such as recording an increase if a largenumber of new vessels have just beendelivered.The overall index is obtained by takinga weighted average of the type indices,where the weighting is proportional tothe total value of the vessels in the type.This ensures that the economic importanceof each vessel type is reflectedappropriately in the index. Separateindices are produced for tankers andbulkers.www.dnv.comDNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS) hasannounced the release of its new product‘Fuel Insight’, a data analytics product forbunker fuel designed to provide real-timeinformation on deliveries around theworld and aid companies with procurementand benchmarking.Fuel Insight is a subscription-basedweb application that taps into DNVPS’bunker quality database. It processes dataon fuel prices, ISO 8217 quality parametersand regulatory compliance and thusprovides information for supplier evaluationand purchase decision-making.DNV says its data analytics tool willhelp shipping companies get the bestvalue from bunker purchases and supportship charterers, operators and owners inoptimising costs and reducing risks.Fuel Insight further benchmarks variousbunker performance indicators of individualvessels and fleets against industry averages.By integrating this data analytics tool intotheir overall fuel management process, shipoperators may hope to identify improvementopportunities and potential cost savings.“At today’s extremely high bunkerprices, getting the best value in fuel purchasesis a must, especially for shippingcompanies struggling to stay afloat,” saysDNV Petroleum Services managing directorTore Morten Wetterhus.“Fuel Insight can help bunker buyersand fleet operators decide on sources thatyield optimum value, based on the testresults of delivered bunkers captured inour database.”Fuel Insight offers five key features, thefirst of which is a ‘Price CorrectionCalculator’, which estimates the correctedbunker prices quoted by suppliers andbenchmarks financial loss or gain (in USdollars) and quantity loss or gain (in metrictonnes).A ‘Reporting Benchmark’ compares theselected supplier’s Bunker Delivery Notevalues for density, sulphur and viscosityagainst lab-tested results, while a‘Statutory Benchmark’ evaluates the compliancerecord of the selected supplier’sdeliveries in relation to sulphur and flashpointregulatory requirements.A ‘Financial Benchmark’ is also included,similar to the Price Correction Calculatorexcept that the reporting is on a 0 to 100scale, instead of US dollars or metric tonnes.Finally, a ‘Technical Benchmark’ is usedto analyse the technical quality of the selectedsupplier’s products by evaluating ISO8217 bunker quality parameters weightedaccording to their levels of importance.Prior to its official launch, Fuel Insightwas trialled by a number of shipping companiestesting their bunkers with DNVPS, aswell as by selected members of the Baltic andInternational Maritime Council (BIMCO).Digital Ship June/July 2011 page 27