By
Richard Humphreys |
NAPA, a global provider of maritime software and data services, has launched NAPA Stability for RoRo, a stability management and cargo planning solution built for the operational demands of ro-pax and ro-ro vessels. The product has been co-developed with ferry operator Stena Line.
NAPA’s stability platform has already been installed on more than 69 cruise ships and a growing number of ferries. Now, the solution is being trialled on ro-pax and ro-ro vessels on a route between Gothenburg, Sweden, and Kiel, Germany.
A single Stena Line ro-pax departure can include up to 1,300 passengers, 180 cars, 120 trucks, 90 trailers, 45 containers, 35 dangerous goods units, 30 mobile homes and 25 cars with caravans. Officers must plan cargo placement, verify stability, manage international maritime dangerous goods (IMDG) dangerous goods segregation requirements and confirm departure conditions within turnaround windows. Much of this work has come from manual and cargo manifests via email, with dangerous goods data entered unit by unit into a loading computer. On some vessels, this process took over an hour due to loading computer systems not being designed for the demands of modern ro-ro operations.
NAPA Stability for RoRo connects directly to an operator’s booking system. Cargo data – including unit types, weights, quantities and dangerous goods classifications – is imported automatically into the loading computer, eliminating manual transcription from emails and spreadsheets.
“NAPA Stability for RoRo is designed around a simple principle: the cargo plan and the stability calculation should be one workflow, not two,” said Emmi Helanne, product owner at NAPA. “Officers and crew deal with dozens of cargo types, tight turnarounds and strict dangerous goods regulations on every sailing. We’ve built a system that imports booking data directly, automates IMDG segregation, and gives officers a real-time view of how every loading decision affects vessel stability. The artificial intelligence-assisted loading capability takes this further – it learns from historical departures to propose smarter cargo placement. This isn’t about replacing the officer’s expertise. It’s about giving them better tools so they can focus on the decisions that matter.”
The solution’s visual cargo planner allows officers to load units onto decks using intuitive, user-friendly functions, then edit areas and split or move items, while the stability calculation runs in parallel. Officers can also see the impact of every loading decision on vessel stability in real time.
“We’ve been working alongside NAPA to build something that fits how ro-ro operations actually work,” said David Svanström, officer at Stena Line. “The ability to import accurate booking data directly from our systems into the loading computer – with correct weights and cargo types –means we’re making stability decisions based on real data, not estimates. And the flexibility to switch between manual and auto mode means officers stay in control while the system does the heavy lifting on routine planning.”
Dangerous goods handling, previously a manual, time-intensive process, is automated within the system. Dangerous goods units are imported with full IMDG classification details, and the system automates segregation in accordance with IMDG’s code requirements.
“On a ro-pax vessel, getting the cargo in the right place is one of the most complex parts of every departure – stability, trim, fuel management, dangerous goods segregation, all under time pressure,” said Jörgen Gustavsson, captain of Stena Germanica. “With NAPA Stability for RoRo, the manual work is essentially gone. What used to take our officers hours in data entry and planning now takes 10 to 15 minutes. That time goes straight back into the operation, where it matters most.”
Markus Tompuri, account director of ferry and ro-ro safety solutions at NAPA, said: “With NAPA Stability now serving cruise, yachts, ferry and ro-ro segments, we’re delivering the industry’s most complete stability management platform for passenger ships. The collaboration with Stena Line has been instrumental – their operational expertise, built over decades of ro-ro operations, has shaped every capability in this product. When a Stena Line captain tells us that cargo planning has gone from over an hour to 10 minutes, that’s the kind of measurable impact we’re building for. The ro-ro segment has been underserved by digital stability tools for too long, and we’re changing that.”