Uni-Tankers has partnered with Sofar Ocean to roll out its Wayfinder voyage intelligence platform across its entire 44-vessel fleet to optimize route, speed, and safety decisions. The fleet-wide integration leverages real-time environmental data and vessel digital twins to drive ship-to-shore operational efficiency, targeting average fuel and emission savings of nearly 7% per voyage.
San Francisco, USA | July 1, 2026 – In a major push toward deep digital development and operational hyper-efficiency, leading chemical and product tanker operator Uni-Tankers has selected Sofar Ocean’s Wayfinder platform to optimize voyage decision-making across its entire fleet.
The enterprise-wide rollout comes as Denmark-headquartered Uni-Tankers manages a record fleet of 44 vessels, balancing active trading between volatile spot markets and long-term contracts. By integrating Wayfinder, the shipowner joins an elite group of global maritime heavyweights, including Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Dorian LPG, and Star Bulk, leveraging real-time environmental data to streamline ship-to-shore execution and cut bunker consumption.
Data-Driven Navigation in a Volatile Market
Operating a growing, global fleet across diverse weather systems requires a unified approach to maritime data. Wayfinder bridges the traditional information gap between onboard crews and onshore chartering and operations teams by providing a single, dynamic truth source.
The platform will drive day-to-day voyage execution through three core pillars:
- Real-Time Marine Weather Intelligence: Utilizing Sofar Ocean’s proprietary global sensor network to bypass legacy weather models with hyper-local, real-time planetary data.
- Vessel-Specific Digital Twins: Creating customized digital performance models for each hull in the Uni-Tankers fleet to accurately project how specific ships handle varied sea states.
- Dynamic Voyage Optimization: Continuously recalculating optimal speed and routing instructions to adapt to changing weather and market conditions mid-voyage.
The commercial incentives are substantial: in 2025, shipowners utilizing the Wayfinder platform achieved an average fuel savings of 6.9% per voyage, directly translating to reduced bunker costs and minimized carbon intensity indicators (CII).
Strategic Leadership Perspectives
For Uni-Tankers, the partnership represents a thoroughly vetted, practical response to a expanding fleet profile.
“Operating a global fleet requires a consistent focus on both safety and operational performance,” said Peter Søbygge, General Manager Operations at Uni-Tankers. “Our vessels trade across regions and weather systems, where reliable data and strong visibility support more consistent decision-making both onboard and onshore. With Wayfinder, we see an opportunity to further strengthen how we plan and execute our voyages.”
The decision follows extensive real-world trials of competitive software solutions in the maritime tech ecosystem.
“As we continue to grow the fleet, we are investing in operational efficiency, digital development, and more energy-efficient operations across the business,” noted Per Ekmann, CEO of Uni-Tankers. “We reviewed and trialled the available options thoroughly. Wayfinder stood out for its ability to improve our weather visibility, enhance route and speed decisions, and strengthen execution between our ship and shore teams.”
A Broader Push for Decarbonization
The digital partnership integrates into Uni-Tankers’ broader, multi-million-dollar capital commitment toward fleet modernization and environmental compliance. Since 2025, the company has aggressively upgraded its fleet with modern eco-tankers, invested in cutting-edge wind-assisted propulsion systems, and engaged as a primary participant in the Danish Environmental Protection Agency’s CLEANSHIP project to empirically measure real-world emission reductions.
For San Francisco-based Sofar Ocean, the contract highlights the rapid acceleration of its European footprint. Backed by the world’s largest real-time ocean sensor network, Sofar has established dedicated new regional offices in Denmark and the Netherlands to support an influx of EMEA-based shipping clients.
“Hyper-efficiency comes from combining vessel and market data, with the best real-time environmental data to drive better voyage decisions,” said Tim Janssen, co-founder and CEO of Sofar Ocean. “Our partnership reflects that evolution, and we’re excited to work alongside the Uni-Tankers team to deliver safer, sharper, and more effective voyage execution.”
Both companies confirmed that the fleet-wide implementation is officially underway, with plans to share empirical operational data as the platform matures across Uni-Tankers’ trading routes.
About Uni-Tankers
Uni-Tankers is a leading Danish tanker shipping company specializing in the safe and efficient transportation of liquid cargoes, including chemicals and clean petroleum products. Headquartered in Middelfart, Denmark, the company operates a highly flexible global fleet of approximately 44 to 47 vessels, balanced between long-term contracts and spot market trading.
- Ownership and Strength: Uni-Tankers is a core subsidiary of A/S United Trading and Shipping Company (USTC), a massive, financially resilient family-owned conglomerate under Selfinvest ApS.
- Decarbonization Priorities: The company focuses heavily on fleet modernization, increasingly utilizing eco-design tonnage, stainless steel tank assets, alternative biofuels, and wind-assisted propulsion systems. It is also an active contributor to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency’s CLEANSHIP emissions project.
About Sofar Ocean
Sofar Ocean is a prominent, venture-backed ocean intelligence and maritime technology platform headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded by ocean scientists and tech innovators, the company has raised over $75 million from premier venture capital firms like Union Square Ventures, Craft Ventures, and Foundry Group.
- Core Technology: Sofar owns and operates the world’s largest private network of real-time ocean sensors and drifting smart buoys (Spotter devices), capturing billions of environmental data points daily across the globe.
- Commercial Impact: Its flagship software, Wayfinder, transforms this hyper-local ocean data into predictive insights, vessel digital twins, and dynamic routing guidance. The system helps prominent global shipping fleets (such as MOL and Star Bulk) achieve average fuel and emission savings of nearly 7% per voyage. To support its rapid growth across European markets, Sofar recently established physical offices in Denmark and the Netherlands.
Source: Sofar Ocean