SONATAtakes the allocation off the planner's desk — and gives the optimisation back.
Traditional multi-port planning takes 16+ hours of consolidation, manual allocation, and re-iteration. SONATA collapses it to under 40 minutes for multi-port voyages — and under 15 minutes for single-port plans — so the time goes back into refinement, what-ifs, and DG segregation done properly.
The problem
Every day, experienced planners battle the same frustrations. SONATA was built to solve each one.
Manual allocation eats hours per port — there's little time left for the actual optimization.
A late cargo addition or a vessel restriction change forces a full replan with no margin for error.
Tight clustering of dangerous goods and out-of-gauge cargo means juggling IMDG rules, segregation, and bay geometry simultaneously.
Draft restrictions, bay heights, crane splits — each port has its own constraints, and remembering them all is a human-error risk.
Maintaining GM, trim, stress, and lashing limits across thousands of containers — by hand — is the work of luck as much as skill.
The conflict in your operations
It happens every voyage. Commercial wants the vessel full. Planning rolls cargo over for stability reasons. Both sides work from different spreadsheets. The argument is the process. SONATA puts them on the same source of truth — live cargo forecast, real-time stability, and a transparent stowage plan that both sides can read.
“The vessel planner always has the last say, often resulting in a conflict with trade managers when containers were ‘rolled over’ by the planner due to stability reasons.”
Solverminds GmbH · 2021
What this means for your P&L
Tighter DG clustering — per IMDG-compliant risk zones — frees up bays that would otherwise be wasted. Carriers can pack more reefers and accept more hazardous cargo without breaking safety rules.
GM, trim, stress, lashing, stack weight, stack height, IMDG segregation, DNV GL lashingcheck — all calculated as the plan is built. Compliance becomes a property of the process.
Optimised crane splits and pre-arrival plans mean shorter berth windows. Less time in port means voyages can run at economical speed, reducing bunker cost.
Time saved goes back into refinement, what-ifs, and DG segregation done properly — not lost to manual re-iteration. The planner's expertise is finally applied where it actually moves the number.
The race
Manual planning
Today16+ hrs
For a multi-port voyage plan
Spreadsheets. Phone calls. Re-iteration after re-iteration. The vessel waits at the berth while the planner finishes.
With SONATA
One clickUnder 40 min
Multi-port · <15 min single-port
One generation. Multi-port. DG auto-segregated. IMDG-compliant. Plan ready before the vessel arrives.
The live plan
DG cargo clustered per IMDG Code. Reefers grouped near plug points. High cubes positioned by weight. Every safety calc — GM, trim, stress, lashing, stack weight, stack height — all calculated and considered before the plan finalizes.
Bay 21
Bay 22
Bay 23
Vessel safety calcs
Slot fill
94%
Loaded
178/192
Reefers
12
DG conflicts
0
The cost of getting it wrong
Cargo loss, environmental damage, and loss of life — the industry has lived through every one of these. SONATA exists because the stakes are non-negotiable.
1,382
containers / year
Average annual cargo lost at sea (World Shipping Council, 12-year survey 2008–2019).
$200M+
per major incident
Single events have generated this much in commercial losses, legal claims and environmental remediation — sometimes taking years to resolve.
1,800
boxes lost · Nov 2020
A single trans-Pacific voyage in storm conditions — 64 of the lost containers carried Dangerous Goods. Second-largest cargo loss in liner history.
Sources: World Shipping Council Containers Lost at Sea report; Solverminds SONATA white paper (2021).
What's inside
Plan a 5-port voyage in one pass.
Interactive interface lets planners run multiple scenarios simultaneously — pick the cheapest fuel-and-fill outcome.
IMDG, DGDOC, and your own house policy — enforced as one.
Multi-layer compliance filters: IMDG Code, DGDOC, and your in-house company policy. Starts with the most sensitive DG class, clusters into bays, respects vessel restrictions.
GM, trim, stress, lashing, stack weight, stack height.
Every metric calculated on every plan. All parameters are calculated and considered by SONATA in order to avoid stack collapses and lashing errors.
Beyond the vessel.
Draft restrictions, bay height restrictions, and crane split suggestions — the plan accounts for what the terminal can actually handle.
Linux. Mac. Windows.
Runs anywhere on the planner's machine. No special hardware, no platform lock-in.
Push and pull. Schedule, cargo list, EDI.
Open APIs enable push/pull integration with your planning ecosystem — schedules, cargo lists, EDI formats. Your existing stack stays intact.
BAPLIE, Movins, Excel, COPRAR.
Five major formats native. Custom mappings on top. No conversion overhead.
Cost a skipped port. Cost a Change of Destination.
Run the financial impact of omitting a port or rerouting a container — before committing. Operational decisions get costed, not guessed.
One vessel. Many forecast files.
In a Vessel Sharing Agreement, every partner sends a different forecast in a different format at a different time. SONATA consolidates them into a single load list before the planner touches it — the multi-partner pain disappears.
EVs. Wet blue. High-value reefers.
Beyond DG, reefer, and OOG, SONATA handles the awkward edge cases that planners get burned on — electric vehicles, wet blue hides, high-value reefers. Each with its own placement, segregation, and monitoring rules.
Dynamic load list, tied to class.
Dynamic Load List integration with class approvals built into the plan. The classification society's constraints don't get rediscovered in port — they're enforced upfront.
Subscription. REST API. HTTPS.
Cloud deployment on subscription. REST API for data integration. ETL platform for export and transformation. HTTPS end-to-end. No on-prem infrastructure to maintain.
IMDG. GDPR. EU AI Act.
Compliance treated as engineering, not paperwork. IMDG Code enforced as a hard constraint. GDPR-compliant data handling. EU AI Act-aligned model practices. ISO 27001 inherited from Solverminds.
Format ingestion
Five major formats supported out of the box. Custom mappings for user-specific files. No data-conversion overhead, no consultant project.
What comes out
Every plan generates the documentation operations, terminal, and class need — without the planner having to assemble them by hand.
Bay Print
Container-by-container layout per bay, ready for the terminal.
Cargo Statistics
Per-port, per-discharge breakdown of TEUs, weight and special cargo.
Stress & Stability
GM, BM, SF, TM and trim across every plan condition.
Restow List
Every container that needs lifting and re-stowing, by bay and stack.
Error Report
Rule violations, lashing exceedances, and DG conflicts surfaced before the plan finalises.
Stack Weight & Height
Lashing-limit compliance and stack-load checks per location.
Visibility Report
Bridge sightline verification — what the captain can and can't see over.
Data Analysis Cube
Cross-cut the plan by cargo type, port, weight, vessel — answers without a spreadsheet.
How it works
A multi-level automation tool that assists planners at each decision point — without taking control away from them.
STEP 01
SONATA suggests bay assignments from the load list. Planner reviews, accepts, or overrides.
STEP 02
Stability optimization through cargo swapping. Trim, GM, and stress recalculated live.
STEP 03
Ballast optimization runs in parallel. Onboard lashing errors flagged and resolved before commitment.
STEP 04
Stowage plan, DG manifest, lashing reports, and class-approval documents generated in seconds.
Ecosystem
SONATA connects seamlessly with your planning and operations ecosystem — no rip-and-replace required.
Bidirectional sync with the planner's current toolchain — keep what works, augment what doesn't.
Native integration with LRP, CAPMAN, VSS — cargo bookings flow into stowage planning automatically.
Fleet- and route-optimization output feeds directly into stowage. Schedule and plan optimized together.
BAPLIE, COPRAR, COARRI, MOVINS, VERMAS — five native formats, with custom mappings on top. Future-proof against evolving standards.
Who benefits
From frontline planners to operations management — SONATA delivers measurable value at every level.
Less manual allocation. More time on optimization. The planner's expertise gets applied where it actually moves the number — not on routine cargo placement.
Faster turnaround. Fewer surprises in port. Plans that account for terminal restrictions, crane splits, and partner forecasts upfront — not in crisis mode.
Higher DG lift. Less wasted bay space. Better fuel efficiency. The commercial side gets the visibility it needs — and the safety calls are documented and auditable.
Proven across every vessel size
From regional feeders to ultra-large container ships — SONATA has been demonstrated live to experienced planners with real cargo, real services, and real vessel profiles. The same engine runs every size.
Compliance & certifications
ISO 27001
Information security
GDPR
Data protection
EU AI Act
AI governance
IMDG Code
Dangerous goods
Built with mariners, not just engineers
SONATA's Chief Commercial Officer is a Master Mariner. The product team includes deck officers, ship managers, and chief engineers — not just software developers. Every rule, every constraint, every shortcut in the planning UI exists because someone on the team ran into it at sea or in port.
Credit · SONATA team
Capt. Vijay Minocha
Chief Commercial Officer · Master Mariner
Plus founding directors, Solverminds GmbH leadership in Germany, and a team of master mariners and chief engineers reviewing every release.
20+ years
2005
Manual planning
First-generation stowage planning launched
2006
First implementation
Manual planning deployed in production
2007
Auto-planning
Algorithm-driven planning engine launched
2011
Optimization R&D
Deep research into stowage optimization algorithms
2012
Carrier-scale
Operating at major-carrier vessel-stowage scale
2017
European MOU
Strategic partnership signed in Germany
2019
Risk-zone integration
New algorithms + IMDG risk-zone engine
2021
Dynamic lashing
100% lashing limits · faster crane splits · high-cube optimisation
Trusted by container lines on five continents
AI roadmap
SONATA's AI capabilities are already live — with the next frontier of action-capable agents arriving soon.
Built today · in production
Coming next · 2026–2027
FAQ
Everything prospects ask before getting started with SONATA.
Typical deployment runs 8–12 weeks: vessel profile setup, data integration with your existing planning tool and EDI feeds, planner training, and a live pilot voyage with the SONATA team alongside. Faster timelines are possible if your data feeds and vessel profiles are already standardized.
Pick your next step
Three ways to start — pick the one that fits where you are.
Just looking
Concise overview of SONATA — what it does, what it needs, where it fits. No call, no commitment.
Request brief →Evaluating
30-minute walkthrough of SONATA — features, planning workflow, and how it fits your fleet. With a SONATA specialist.
Book a demo →Ready to deploy
45 minutes with a SONATA specialist. Integration plan, timeline, and ROI projection.
Book a call →