Routing

Weather routing programme display bad weather and avoidance strategies

Stormy seas and wind can slow down a ship’s progress considerably and drive up fuel consumption. Crossing a bad-weather area means hours, if not days, of steaming against wind and waves. This can increase fuel consumption by up to 50 per cent.

Even the captain of a ship, of course, has no influence on the weather. But the ship’s command can pursue avoidance strategies by giving the bad-weather area a wide berth or adjusting speed in such a way that the vessel reaches the probable danger zone before or after the spell of adverse weather.

The weather routing programme Bon Voyage supports these strategies. The software analyses regional weather forecasts as well as maritime data and creates an overall picture of the situation on the planned route. Against this background, the ship’s command then make their decision on the course and speed.