Through the implementation of SIMS (Ship Information Management System) in 2008, the NYK Group has been able to share data among workplaces on land and sea in real time, including detailed hourly updates on shipping operations and data related to fuel consumption. Optimized economic vessel operations and energy-saving operations are realized by visualization of information and close information-sharing among crew members, shipowners, ship operators, and ship managers. SIMS has been installed on 199 of our operating vessels (as of the end of December 2021).

The NYK Group developed the shipmanagement platform for data sharing called "NiBiKi" and launched services in December 2018. In accordance with the Safety Management System (SMS) manual, onboard crew are required to file reports about safety management to the shipmanagement company. However, the conventional operation flow had some inefficiencies. Crews would have to draft various reports and applications, and then send emails with attachments to the shipmanagement company to obtain approval. Afterward, crews would need to file printouts of the reports to retain on board. Moreover, the information reported by the ship was not being used efficiently to analyze this data, etc., because each vessel and shipmanagement company would file the data independently. Given this issue, the NYK Group developed the NiBiKi system, which digitalizes SMS manual documents and the application and approval workflow, thereby making it possible for crews to report and request approval accurately in a short period of time by simply completing the prescribed forms following the instructions. Furthermore, the data accumulated in the NiBiKi system will be shared with ship operators and shipmanagement companies for high-quality big data analyses, enabling linkages with conventional safety and crew health activities. Going forward, we plan to build a more comprehensive system and further utilize data for crew training and drills.

Investment in fundamental big data technology and involvement in active development are indispensable for achieving safe, economical, and environmentally friendly operations. The Group will promote a safe and efficient onboard IoT platform, in addition to digitalization initiatives, for innovation with shipbuilding companies, equipment manufacturers, ship classification societies, and various partners.