Inside Voyage Intelligence: Q&A with a StormGeo Expert, Todd Lanouette

Voyage Intelligence starts with experience, and few know that better than Todd Lannouette, who began as a Route Analyst and now serves as a Business Manager at StormGeo. With years of hands-on routing experience and a strategic business perspective, Todd bridges the gap between data, weather systems, and the real-world needs of shipowners and operators. In this conversation, we discuss how commercial priorities are weighed against safety, how real-time weather data shapes critical mid-voyage decisions, and the story of one vessel that narrowly navigated between two typhoons, with the help of StormGeo’s expert guidance.

1. How do you balance commercial goals with safety and efficiency when recommending a route?

We carefully balance commercial priorities—such as laycan windows, NOR constraints, and fuel cost optimization—with safety and operational efficiency. Our approach begins by fully respecting the client’s commercial objectives while factoring in real-time weather conditions and potential risks.

If a significant weather event arises that could impact the voyage or compromise those commercial goals, we immediately alert the client with a clear assessment of the situation. We then collaborate with them to reassess and, if necessary, adjust their commercial parameters to ensure the safest and most efficient route is maintained without losing sight of business priorities.

2. What role does real-time weather data play in mid-voyage adjustments, and how quickly can those changes be actioned?

Real-time weather data plays a critical role in our ability to monitor and respond to developing weather systems mid-voyage. Our operations team continuously analyzes updated weather models to detect evolving trends—such as intensifying storm systems or shifts in storm tracks. This is especially important when tracking tropical cyclones.

Once a consistent trend is identified, we can initiate route adjustments within just a few hours in urgent cases. However, our proactive strategy aims to make these changes 3–5 days in advance of encountering a system. This early response helps minimize the need for extreme diversions that could otherwise lead to unnecessary increases in sailing distance, time, and fuel consumption—ensuring both safety and operational efficiency.

3. Can you share a recent routing decision that had a major impact, either by saving fuel, avoiding danger, or solving a customer challenge?

Certainly. One recent case involved a tug sailing from Shanghai to Singapore, just as a typhoon was strengthening off the northeastern Philippines, heading across Luzon and into the South China Sea—directly along the tug’s projected path.

Given the vessel’s speed and position, there was a narrow window to potentially “cross the T” of the typhoon— a high-risk maneuver that our Operations team evaluates with extreme caution. We presented this option to the vessel’s master and operator, along with an alternative: seek shelter off Kaohsiung in southwestern Taiwan and potentially wait up to 10 days, as a second typhoon was forecast to follow closely behind.

However, our model data indicated a growing likelihood that the first typhoon could shift northward and directly impact Taiwan, making the sheltering option increasingly risky. After careful discussion, the master and operator chose to proceed ahead of the storm.

Our team closely monitored the vessel’s progress and provided updated weather forecasts every six hours for nearly 72 hours, ensuring a continuous safety buffer. Ultimately, the tug safely cleared south of the typhoon, and the second system did make direct landfall in Taiwan—confirming that the sheltering option would have exposed the vessel to greater danger and delay.

This case highlights the value of precise forecasting, real-time data, and close collaboration between our team and the client to make informed, time-sensitive decisions that enhance safety and operational efficiency.