Smarter Shipping: How Advania Helps Pelagia Cut Costs and Emissions with AI

Pelagia, a global leader in high-quality pelagic fish products and an Advania customer since 2011, aimed to reduce CO2 emissions, save time, and lower costs. To accomplish these goals, it sought a smart tool to transform complex data into actionable insights.

In the spring of 2024, Senior Developer Daniel Alvestad from Advania started developing an algorithm specifically designed for Pelagia’s operations. The result is a new tool that leverages artificial intelligence (AI), enabling Pelagia to navigate and calculate optimal routes, with potentially significant reductions in cost and emissions.

Calculating Optimal Routes

The algorithm is made up of specific building blocks, says Daniel. “It’s not generative AI, which is perhaps more commonly known. It gives you the information you need, when you need it, based on precise data collected from Pelagia and other sources. For instance, the most important building blocks are the distances from one location to another. Distances along the Norwegian coast cannot be calculated by drawing a straight line. We needed the exact data to determine the time a ship takes on a specific route – and how much time could be saved if the ship diverted to another route.”

With its new AI-powered tool, Pelagia can perform precise calculations for optimal routes that save time, reduce costs, and minimise fuel consumption by simply optimising the routes from A to B.

“Sustainability is at the core of everything we do at Pelagia,” says Frode Vatne, Chief Information Officer at Pelagia. “If you approach sustainability the right way, you will find that making green choices also equates to making smart choices. With this tool, we are saving double-digit percentages on fuel. It’s not rocket science to understand that saving fuel is beneficial for both Pelagia’s budget and for the planet.”

A Collaborative Partnership

Advania and Pelagia’s long-standing collaboration has created a strong foundation of mutual trust and understanding. “Knowing the people at Advania and working closely with them is key to achieving the results we wanted,” Frode says. “We complement each other.”

Daniel agrees, emphasising the importance of collaboration in the development of the algorithm. “There is certain information that you can’t obtain from a machine, only from working with people who possess specific knowledge. Now, all that information is embedded within the tool.”

Click here to download Advania's 2024 Annual and Sustainability Report.