Fred. Olsen tests AI system to cut food waste at sea
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has started a six-month onboard pilot that uses AI to track discarded food in real time, aiming to improve efficiency and reduce waste across the fleet.
A practical sustainability trial on board
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has launched a six-month pilot with Swiss technology company Kitro on the Bolette. The idea is simple but useful: place AI-powered monitoring devices in key galley areas and measure what food is being thrown away, when it happens and how much it weighs.
Why cruise operators care about this
Food waste is not just a cost issue. It is also tied to emissions, provisioning efficiency and day-to-day ship operations. By capturing waste patterns in real time, the cruise line hopes to understand where overproduction happens, which meal periods create the biggest losses and where kitchen routines can be tightened without affecting the guest experience.
How the technology works
The pilot includes five devices positioned in galley work zones. According to the company, the system automatically identifies discarded food, logs categories and timing, and turns that into data the onboard and shoreside teams can actually use. In other words, this is less about flashy AI branding and more about giving chefs and operations staff better numbers to work with.
What could change if the trial succeeds
If the results are strong, Fred. Olsen may have a clearer path to fleet-wide rollout. That could mean more accurate purchasing, smarter menu planning and fewer avoidable leftovers. For travelers, the effect would likely be invisible, but that is the point: better efficiency behind the scenes without making the cruise feel restricted.
Why this matters beyond one ship
Many cruise lines talk about sustainability in broad terms. What makes this pilot interesting is that it focuses on a specific operational problem with measurable outputs. If the data proves useful, similar systems could become more common on ships where cutting waste offers both environmental and commercial benefits.