Maersk vessels will be assisting global research efforts on weather patterns and climate change by committing 300 company-owned vessels to participate in the global Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) program, the company said in its release. While Maersk already has many vessels contributing to the VOS, the newly expanded commitment will see its entire fleet participating by the end of 2020. The recorded data helps meteorologists create more accurate weather and storm forecasts - and will also be used in the creation of atmosphereocean models that will help scientists better understand climate change.
While scientists have been collecting and sharing weather and ocean condition observations for over 150 years around the world, technological advances have significantly increased the amount of information which can be shared.
A typical VOS records and transmits observations manually, with a vessel crewmember reading data from instruments onboard the ship, or in some cases through automated weather stations (AWS). The data is then sent to the various National Meteorological Services for use in weather prediction models and to monitor actual conditions at sea.
To obtain more data with higher precision, the first five Maersk vessels participating in the VOS program are equipped with a more advanced type of AWS, called the European Common Automatic Weather Station (EUCAWS). The EUCAWS system automatically collects data on atmospheric pressure, air temperature and relative humidity and transmits them hourly to designated research stations. By the end of 2020, a total of 50 such stations are planned to be operational on Maersk vessels, providing the largest fleet of AWS from a single company.
While over 3000 ships are involved in the VOS program, overall participation has declined in recent years due to the reduction in the global commercial fleet’s financial and crew resources. New technologies such as AWS and electronic logbooks, however, have led to an increase in the quantity and quality of observations from each vessel. As the world’s largest container ship fleet operator, Maersk will be making a significant contribution to improving the amount and quality of data available to the study.
In the United States, Maersk has worked actively with the VOS partner organization and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on a variety of environmental programs. These have included testing air quality and vessel stack emissions and whale protection programs on both coasts.
About the A.P. Moller - Maersk
A.P. Moller - Maersk is an integrated container logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’supply chains. As the global leader in shipping services, the company operates in 130 countries and employs 70,000 people.