Hefring Marine

Hefring Marine was awarded with a large grant from the Technology Development Fund of the Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS) for the development of the next generation Hefring Marine system, the first version of which is planned for launch in 2021. The grant is awarded for a two-year period.

RANNIS supports research, innovation, education and culture in Iceland. RANNIS cooperates closely with the Icelandic Science and Technology Policy Council and provides professional assistance in the preparation and implementation of the national science and technology policy. RANNIS administers competitive funds in the fields of research, innovation, education and culture, as well as strategic research programmes.

The Icelandic Maritime Council of the Ministry of Transport and Local Government and the Icelandic Transport Authority have awarded Hefring ehf. a grant funding for continued development and scalability of the Hefring Marine system. Hefring Marine is an onboard digital AI co-pilot that provides boat and vessel operators with intuitive decision support and trip predictions that can help improve safety and prevent damage on board. All trips are logged so that owners and managers can keep track of when, how, and by whom their vessels have been operated. With this award, the Maritime Council and the Ministry acknowledge the potential of the Hefring Marine solution to improve seafarer safety by reducing human errors in vessel operations. In her evaluation of the Hefring Marine system, Ásta Þorleifsdóttir, Vice-Chairman and Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Transport and Local Government, on behalf of the Icelandic Maritime Council, "acknowledges its support for further development of this important project for seafarer safety". "We are very thankful for the support from the Icelandic Maritime Council and the Ministry of Transportation and Local Government and the Icelandic Transport Authority, which is very important for us at Hefring ehf. Not only does it serve as a recognition of the value of our solution, but it is also boosts our team's confidence knowing that we have the support of our local community and public administration in Iceland." - Karl Birgir Björnsson, CEO & Co-founder, Hefring ehf.

Hefring ehf. is pleased to announce that it is expanding its international business development and sales network to meet the increasing demand for its technology by appointing Forum Technologies as its European representative. Hefring Marine’s solution is a digital Artificial Intelligence based co-pilot that improves marine safety and comfort by generating a suggested safe speed for operators based on sea conditions, wave impacts and actual speed. It connects the vessel in real time with a fleet management system for performance monitoring and alerts. At the end of each trip, a report with insights into each trip, captain and vessel is automatically generated. “Hefring ehf.’s technologies will provide a step-change in the safety and management of small boat operations, and I am excited to be working with them to promote their technologies into the marine market” said Nick Swift, Founder and CEO of Forum Technologies Ltd. “We are excited to be working with Forum Technologies Ltd to expand the business into Europe. This is an exciting time for Hefring ehf. as new products are about to be launched and our current portfolio of solutions is gaining sales with customers around the world.” said Karl Birgir Björnsson, Hefring Marine’s CEO and co-founder.