San Francisco-based maritime technology company Sofar Ocean has announced a partnership with the U.S. Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command’s (CNMOC) Fleet Weather Centers in Norfolk (FWC-N) and San Diego (FWC-SD). As the Navy’s primary weather forecasting centers, FWC-N and FWC-SD are piloting Sofar’s Wayfinder platform to enhance the safe and efficient routing of naval vessels. The platform utilizes real-time ocean weather data to optimize route options for Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships.
Tim Janssen, co-founder and CEO of Sofar, commented, “Wayfinder enables the Navy to increase situational awareness and harness data-driven optimization for safe and efficient routing. Powered by our global real-time ocean weather sensor network, Wayfinder will help the Navy scale operations to support a diverse fleet, even in increasingly extreme conditions brought on by climate change.”
The U.S. Navy is evaluating Wayfinder under a five-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) signed with Sofar Ocean in July 2023. The platform reduces manual tasks for forecasters by automatically generating forecasts along a vessel’s route. By integrating real-time data from Sofar’s global network of Spotter buoys, Wayfinder helps mitigate weather uncertainty, improve route optimization, and predict unwanted vessel motions. This enhanced data enables captains and shoreside personnel to validate forecast models and explore multiple route options more efficiently, simplifying a traditionally complex process.
Lea Locke-Wynn, Undersea Warfare Technical Lead for CNMOC’s Future Capabilities Department, emphasized, “One of our primary goals in Naval Oceanography is fostering innovation through collaboration with commercial partners. Our ongoing CRADA with Sofar Ocean exemplifies how we leverage industry advancements to support Department of Defense operations.”
As the number of naval vessels, including experimental and autonomous ships, continues to grow, the need for timely, automated forecasting becomes even more critical. Wayfinder helps bridge this gap by providing real-time forecast-on-route guidance, freeing up personnel at FWC-N and FWC-SD to focus on mission-critical tasks that require their specialized expertise.
Captain Erin Ceschini, Commanding Officer of FWC-SD, remarked, “Wayfinder allows us to better visualize our ships’ routes and make safer, more efficient decisions regarding route, speed, and heading. It has the potential to be a key component of our daily operations, ensuring safe routing amid an increasingly unpredictable weather environment.