Maersk makes 300 vessels available for voluntary observation to help meteorologists

Maersk has made 300 vessels available to participate in the global Voluntary Observation Ship (VOS) program, which aims to help meteorologists create more accurate weather and storm forecasts, as well as helping scientists better understand climate change. The expectation is that by the end of 2020 Maersk’s fleet will be participating in the program.

According to the company, technological advances have significantly increased the amount of information that can be shared. To obtain more data with greater precision, the first five Maersk vessels participating in the VOS program are equipped with a more advanced type of automated weather station (AWS), called the European Common Automatic Weather Station (EUCAWS). The EUCAWS system automatically collects data on atmospheric pressure, air temperature, and relative humidity and transmits it every hour to designated research stations. By the end of 2020, a total of 50 stations are planned to operate on Maersk ships, providing the largest AWS fleet for a single company.

The general trend in recent years has been for overall participation in the VOS program to decrease in recent years due to the reduction in the financial and crew resources of the global commercial fleet. New technologies, such as AWS and electronic journals, however, have led to an increase in the quantity and quality of each ship’s observations.

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