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GAC-SMHI Weather Solutions, the alliance between GAC Group and the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), has unveiled a new feature of its Fleetweb online application to alert users of coordinates and details of sea crime attacks.

This latest upgrade adds a new tool to Fleetweb, a system which provides operators with map-based intelligence about the locations of their vessels and the weather conditions they face, thus enabling constant monitoring and optimization of fleet routing and performance.

Through its filter systems, operators have an overview of how their vessels are performing in terms of speed and fuel consumption. Bunker buyers can see on a daily basis what fuel volumes are required, and technical managers can better plan maintenance schedules.

With the addition of the Sea Crime Solutions, security personnel can now use Fleetweb to reduce the risk to their vessels. This latest upgrade provides rapid sea crime alerts with precise coordinates and incident details to allow operators to immediately inform their ships of attacks in their vicinity and along their planned routes. It also gives an accurate picture of the overall sea crime threat at any given time, particularly in high-risk waters.

Lennart Cederberg, Global Product Manager of GAC-SMHI Weather Solutions, said: "Users are alerted in a highly visible way with a piracy attack icon on the Fleetweb map. This allows them to immediately assess the current location of their vessels in relation to the attack and to take the necessary precautionary steps. Fleetweb already helps owners to ensure safe, profitable shipping through comprehensive weather data that allows them to plot the optimal route. The addition of the sea crime alerts feature is in direct response to customers' needs, providing them with all the data they need to protect their vessels, crews and cargoes."

The new feature is facilitated by GAC Protective Solutions, a partnership between the GAC Group and AKE Maritime.

AKE's Maritime Director, Rick Filon, said: "Shipping intelligence, information and education lie at the heart of all effective maritime security solutions and the upgraded Fleetweb service has a big role to play in helping operators to mitigate the risk to global shipping that all sea crime poses.

"Real-time intelligence like the information provided with Fleetweb is just one of the many ways in which operators can reduce the risk in a cost-effective fashion. Other effective measures we provide include pre-voyage training for seafarers or onboard preventative technologies, such as the latest citadel door protection from Intelligent Engineering (IE) or remotely-operated water cannon systems from Unifire."