Blue Autonomy takes vessel performance training online

Athens-based maritime technology outfit Blue Autonomy has launched an online academy aimed at the growing number of shipping professionals expected to understand, challenge and defend vessel performance data.

The Blue Autonomy Academy opens with 39 self-paced courses covering vessel performance, maritime data and the regulations increasingly putting a price on those numbers.

The courses are arranged across nine specialisations and aimed at technical superintendents, performance analysts, fleet and technical managers, naval architects and marine engineers, as well as chartering and operations teams dealing with performance figures in charterparties.

Topics range from ship resistance and propulsion to hull and propeller performance under ISO 19030, speed trials under ISO 15016, bunker quantity and quality, speed and consumption claims, and shipping’s CII, EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime regimes.

The academy’s existing course material shows a strong focus on the mechanics behind performance numbers rather than software training. Its modules include ship resistance, fleet efficiency and data quality, as well as courses explaining emissions regulations, alternative fuels, energy-saving technologies and onboard carbon capture.

Each paid course ends with a graded exam and a certificate that can be checked through an online public register, while paid specialisations culminate in a project drawing on the subjects covered across the course sequence.

Blue Autonomy says seven courses are being offered free in full, including its maritime decarbonisation and compliance specialisation.

The certification system requires an 80% pass mark for course examinations, with questions drawn from a larger pool and three attempts allowed. Specialisation certificates require completion of the individual courses followed by a capstone exercise based around vessel data and a commercial or technical decision.

The certificates are private professional training and are not presented as state-recognised qualifications.

“Behind every number a ship reports there is a calculation someone made,” said Christos Papandreou, founder and chief executive of Blue Autonomy. “The Academy teaches the people who sign for these numbers to take them apart, check each input and stand behind the result.”

Papandreou is a naval architect and marine engineer with around 15 years in fleet performance and operational data. His background includes work with NEMO, DeepSea Technologies, StormGeo, Athenian Sea Carriers and PwC.

Blue Autonomy has built its wider work around vessel performance engineering, maritime data and the application of physics-based models and AI to areas including speed-power analysis, hull fouling and fuel efficiency.

The academy uses a one-off purchase model rather than subscriptions, with the first lesson of paid courses available to view before buying. The company is also offering fleet and company packages for multiple users.

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