FreightTech Friday: Harbor Lab modernizing accounting for vessel operators

Athens, Greece-based Harbor Lab has raised $16 million to continue working toward streamlining vessel accounting practices with AI technology.

Atomico led the Series A with participation from existing investors Notion Capital, Venture Friends, Speed Invest and The Dock. New investors included Endeavor Catalyst and TMV.

“Harbor Lab’s platform gives peace of mind to shipping companies by enabling them to run critical parts of their operations in a more seamless, transparent and efficient way. It is already helping businesses around the world — including shipping giants Great Eastern Shipping and Oldendorff — and has a significant opportunity to expand globally,” Ben Blume, partner at Atomico and new board member of Harbor Lab, also said in the funding announcement on Wednesday.

The company has raised a total of $22.5 million since being founded in 2020 by Antonis Malaxianakis, who had worked in the maritime industry for over a decade.

“This moment stands as one of my proudest as a professional,” Malaxianakis said in a LinkedIn post about the funding. “My dedication to making Harbor Lab a success story is driven by a deep commitment to growing our ecosystem and setting new standards in the maritime industry.”

Harbor Lab aims to leverage modern technology to transform manual accounting methods used by large global carriers in order to maximize efficiency.

According to the company, costs associated with port calls are the second-largest expense for commercial vessels, following fuel costs. On average, these expenses amount to approximately $2.2 million per vessel annually.

During those calls, port authorities are paid for the use of ports, caring for the vessels’ crew members and providing any parts or services that may be needed. Each port calculates these expenses differently while also using different currency and exchanges rates, making it difficult to forecast total costs and compare pricing for services among available vendors.

Harbor Lab created its disbursement accounting tool to give vessels the capability to negotiate and compare costs among vendors at the ports.

“There is a lack of transparency in the disbursements accounting process that causes so much uncertainty and administration that I decided to develop software to streamline the processes. The level of information our tools bring to our customers also enables them to be one step ahead of their competitors as they can make faster decisions and book cargoes more quickly,” Malaxianakis said in a company blog.

The company says its disbursement accounting tool allows one person to now oversee these payments for up to 50 vessels, while reducing margins of error from 20% to 3%.

Harbor Lab will use the fresh capital to grow its team and continue building out it AI-driven platform with new applications for its vessel customers.

Brief Bytes

Candor Expedite recently launched Candor Food Chain, a cold chain division featuring a reusable cold packaging solution that keeps shipments frozen or refrigerated for up to nine days. This technology, developed in partnership with European firm Cool Chain, eliminates dry ice and reduces costs, emissions and waste. The system supports three temperature ranges and offers real-time temperature and GPS tracking. By consolidating deliveries, it also cuts down on logistics costs.

DriverReach and Haul announced Wednesday a partnership to enhance fleet compliance and safety in the trucking industry. DriverReach’s CDL recruiting system will integrate with Haul’s AI-powered compliance platform to streamline driver onboarding, ensure regulatory compliance and manage fleet safety. Key benefits include improved compliance checks, a more efficient recruitment process, risk reduction and decreased driver churn.

Ryan Transportation, a top 100 freight brokerage by revenue, announced Thursday it has partnered with Qued Inc. to automate its load appointment scheduling. This integration is being powered through McLeod TMS. According to the company, the AI-driven platform provided by Qued came with change management support for faster adoption and minimal training. Qued also recently announced it had appointed Truck Tools founder Prasad Gollapalli to lead the company as chief executive officer.