Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. and Metro Weather Co., announced the start of a demonstration experiment on the route between Tokyo and Fukuoka using Metro Weather's Doppler LiDAR, a long-range wind condition measurement device installed on the RORO vessel MUSASHI MARU-owned by MOL Group company, MOL Sunflower Ltd., according to MOL's release.
This is the first time in the world that a Doppler LiDAR has been installed on a large seagoing vessel. Using the Doppler LiDAR, MOL and Metro Weather will observe real-time wind 3 dimensional conditions more than 10 km away from MUSASHI MARU and can see such wind conditions onboard. In addition, as part of the maritime industry's digital transformation (DX), big data, such as wind conditions obtained onboard, is transferred to shore via Starlink, a high-speed data communication system. This aims to reduce fuel oil consumption onboard and contribute to safe operations.
MOL has invested in Metro Weather through MOL PLUS Co., Ltd., an MOL Group corporate venture capital arm, pursuing business alliances in a wide range of fields. MOL and Metro Weather will continue to leverage their core technologies and resources to add new value to the shipping industry and society through synergy.
Metro Weather develops and markets Doppler LiDAR and the data it gathers-determining and visualizing wind conditions in 3D and in real time by receiving reflected light from fluttering dust and fine particles in the atmosphere as scatterers, using infrared light, and analyzing them based on the Doppler effect. It has conducted joint research and demonstration experiments with several companies and research institutes in and out of Japan, and since 2021, it has participated in a NASA research and development project.