How Hefring Marine uses AI to make ships safer and more fuel efficient

What started in 2018 as a research project to improve boat hulls in Iceland evolved into a mission to transform maritime operations. Hefring Marine's AI technology provides real-time guidance to vessel operators, improving safety and fuel efficiency across the commercial shipping industry.

Hefring Marine is on a mission to transform the maritime industry with AI technology that improves a vessel’s safety and fuel efficiency. What started in 2018 as a research project to improve boat hulls in Iceland turned into a full-fledged mission to revolutionize how vessels are operated, monitored and maintained as the founding team identified a critical gap in the boat building and maritime safety industry. “Real innovation comes from seeing a problem differently,” Hefring CEO and co-founder Karl Birgir Björnsson said. In Iceland, where Hefring Marine’s story began, the company initially focused on building high-performance boats with a unique hull design that could withstand the harsh conditions of the North Atlantic. These boats were designed to reduce the impacts and shocks caused by rough waters, which can cause severe discomfort and even injury to passengers. After conducting research with the University of Iceland, Björnsson’s team realized that many boats, particularly high-speed rib boats used for tourism, caused impacts up to nine times greater for passengers seated in the front compared to the operator. “There were news stories about passengers fracturing their spines or breaking their teeth, and we had the data to show why that was happening,” said Björnsson. This revelation led to the creation of a simple shock monitoring device that displayed the impact data to the operator in real-time. However, the team soon realized that showing the operator what had already happened wasn’t enough—predicting the shocks before they occurred was key. This prompted the development of an advanced algorithm capable of forecasting wave impacts ahead of the vessel, making operations safer and more efficient. Hefring’s innovation lies in its ability to transform raw data into predictive insights. Hefring’s system connects directly with the boat’s navigation, engine and motion data, providing operators with a comprehensive understanding of how their vessel is performing a

By Jim Dallke at TechNexus Venture Collaborative