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Marine Services Planner - Optimizing Vessel Movements
- David Yeo
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
This week we are excited to announce the launch of marineM PMIS that powers ADNOC Logistics & Services's A.I. Smart Port system across all ADNOC petroleum ports in the United Arab Emirates, a first in the Gulf region. The system first soft launch in mid of 2024, has been fully operational since end 2024. At its core is marineM’s AI scheduling engine — transforming complex port operations into real-time optimization. The result from 15 months of operations? :
3 Hours of planning reduced to 45 seconds
Smarter use of pilots, tugs, pilot boats, mooring, line boats, loading masters, riggers, and tailback boats resources
Higher efficiency, lower fuel burn, and stronger sustainability
Cost savings from lower fuel, more efficient operations, reduced delays
A New Kind of Challenge - Optimizing for SPM Operations
marineM has been deployed in some of the busiest container and multi-purpose ports in the world including Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port ( over 80 vessel movements a day ). Since 2015, when marineM's Marine Services Planner was first launched, marineM's AI scheduling engine has optimized the planning of pilotage, towage, pilot logistics ( i.e. pilot car pickups and pilot boats ), mooring team and line boats to support cargo vessels arrival and departure. ADNOC Logistics & Services brings a new challenge. The tanker vessels are not merely arriving and departing at berths. The complexity of the planning heightens with tankers arriving to and departing from SPM operations. Here’s what that means:
Pilots who double as loading masters must be scheduled not just for the arrival but also reassigned for SPM operations while ensuring duty loading master has sufficient rest.
Tugboats with extended capability need to support the arrival leg and then serve as tailback tugs during cargo operations.
The AI scheduling engine now plans across three legs — arrival, cargo, and departure — each with interdependent resource requirements.
Add in weather-driven diversions, anchorage shifts, and the need to respect resource-specific constraints (like crew rest hours), and the challenge becomes immense. Yet marineM’s AI dynamically rebalances allocations, ensuring resilience and efficiency even under uncertainty.
From Planning to Dispatch: The Role of Harbour Apps
Planning is only half the story. Execution depends on seamless communication with every frontline team. This is where marineM Harbour Apps come in:
Pilots receive real-time job assignments and updates.
Tug crews and pilot boat operators get precise dispatch instructions synced with vessel ETA changes.
Mooring and line boat teams coordinate mobilization without delays.
Loading masters, riggers, and tailback boats are dispatched directly into SPM workflows.
Each Harbour App is connected back to the Marine Services Planner, creating a closed-loop system where schedules aren’t just designed — they’re executed with accountability and transparency.
The Roadmap That Builds Next-Gen
Today, the Marine Services Planner supports container ports, multi-purpose ports, and now petroleum ports. But we’re only getting started.
The next generation Marine Services Planner will:
Integrate more AI-assisted flows to handle even richer operational scenarios
Deploy upgraded predictive models for greater precision in scheduling and risk management
Run on a revamped, upgraded scalable architecture, capable of processing high-volume, real-time requests without performance trade-offs
The future is clear: tomorrow’s Marine Services Planner will go beyond efficiency to become part of the nerve center for smart port ecosystems.
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