Digital platform aims to revolutionise spot markets
Announced at SMM Hamburg 2024, technology once again shakes up the maritime industry.
Digital platforms can disrupt industries because they match supply and demand with unprecedented efficiency. Spot markets, where uncontracted vessels can be paired with unmet demand, are ripe for this kind of disruption, and it is this opportunity that saw the launch of Nauticworx.com in September, with a focus on the workboat spot market.
The Rotterdam-based start-up aims to simplify the complex spot market by bringing brokers, fleet owners, and charterers together on one matchmaking platform, helping to address urgent supply gaps in offshore wind, dredging, port services and the offshore industry. This increased operational flexibility should reduce costs, improve uptime and enhance efficiency.
There’s certainly scope for such a service with offshore support vessels. More efficient matching and transparency could take some of the volatility out of a market, where regional cycles (the North Sea spot market, for example, can be heavily impacted by the weather), clusters of rig moves or wider price shocks, can impact supply and demand leading to erratic and unpredictable pricing.
And the complexity of the workboat market has only increased in some regions, as booming offshore wind now competes with oil and gas activity for capacity to keep projects on track. In such a market, it does nobody any good to have vessels idling so a spot market supercharged by digital technology should deliver enhanced efficiencies for all parties.
“Brokers, fleet owners, and charterers all benefit,” said Friso Visser, co-founder and managing director, recently. “This is truly a win-win game.”
Reducing fuel consumption a benefit
The newly onboarded clients include Landfall Marine and Braveheart Marine, which are listing their real-time project needs for temporary workboats or listing vessels with regional availability.
This regionality is important, because the founders of Nauticworx hope their platform will reduce fuel consumption and emissions through shorter mobilisation times, thereby helping with the industry’s decarbonisation drive. The platform only offers workboats in an 800 nautical mile radius, saving time and fuel costs.
Users can expand or shrink their operations with ease, improving operational agility. And requests are anonymous until users choose not to be, ensuring commercial confidentiality. The platform is based on fixed subscription rates with no hidden fees or brokerage charges and the user experience makes it easy to search, compare and secure ships so that projects stay on schedule and within budget.
Speaking at the company’s launch at SMM Hamburg, co-founder Björn Smets described the platform as a “no-nonsense, smarter, faster way to manage maritime operations”.
“Our platform is not just about connecting vessels and projects,” he said. “It’s about doing so in a way that enhances profitability, sustainability, and overall operational efficiency. We are about preventing project delays, cutting cost, reducing fuel consumption, filling up downtime gaps and ensuring the availability of fit-for-purpose vessels.”
It may seem that brokers would be disintermediated by the platform, but Nauticworx sees the platform as a useful tool that allows brokers to spend less time on searching for vessels and more on providing value-added services, fostering client relationships, and expanding business reach for shipowners and charterers.
The founders have been on the conference trail since their September launch, most recently appearing at the Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC) in Amsterdam. Parties involved in the spot market will be watching their progress with interest.
Discuss similar topics with the Ship Management Special Interest Group.
Inline image: Nauticworx’s platform in action; Nauticworx.
Main/Newsletter image: small offshore tug Ella F; credit: Shutterstock.
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