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Maritime infrastructure is pretty complex, with numerous stakeholders involved in every single port operation. Currently, hundreds of European seaports collaborate and exchange digital data, but the lack of a unified platform prevents efficient collaboration and knowledge sharing. The result is this data ends up in fragmented silos, where it is unable to be put to good use.
The DataPorts project set out to tackle this challenge. Led by independent technology firm ITI in Spain, the team’s goal was to address these complexities by connecting existing digital infrastructures, paving the way for enhanced supply chain efficiency, collaboration and sustainability.
DataPorts project coordinator Santiago Cáceres, a project manager at ITI, explains: “One of the main objectives of the project was to take advantage of this huge amount of data. We knew it was possible to extract much more value from the vast amount of information generated in the EU’s ports. So, we developed and deployed an industrial data platform to do just that.”
The DataPorts solution
The initiative united 15 partners from across Europe to form a consortium dedicated to establishing the Cognitive Ports Data Platform. This single connected system enables safe and seamless data exchange across European seaports, boosting information sharing.
To put its platform to the test, pilot projects were established in Valencia, Spain and Thessaloniki, Greece. In Valencia, the focus was on predicting vessel and cargo behaviour and improving logistics, while the Thessaloniki trial focused on analysing operational data to enhance port and city planning. The ultimate goal is to transform seaports into ‘smart ports’.
Cáceres adds: “We connected the platforms in Valencia and Thessaloniki, and they ran for six months to one year. We were collecting data, making tests and achieved successful results. Users testing the platform in the pilots reported that the deployment of DataPorts brought additional value and helped them during their daily operational tasks.”
Harnessing the data
The project creates a secure data platform that allows information sharing not only between port agents but also between other ports. Hence, this is a secure environment for exchanging data in a reliable and trustworthy manner.
Using AI modelling, the Cognitive Ports Data Platform was also able to predict vessel arrival/departure and berth times, optimise logistics and track goods and containers within ports. Additionally, it aided city planning by forecasting the impact of cruise ship arrivals on neighbourhoods and helped manage traffic in the area.
Integrating outcomes
The platform’s advanced analytics also provided insights to help decision-making, and by the end of the project, DataPorts had produced many concrete results. These included a blueprint for future projects in Europe, an open-source platform that other ports can customise, AI applications that greatly improve efficiency, extensive research on the exploitation capabilities of data platforms in the maritime industry, and an assessment of long-term data-driven business model strategies.
“We have achieved numerous milestones throughout the project,” Cáceres concludes. “The AI apps were successful and are now being used in Valencia. And our industrial platform architecture can be adapted anywhere, at any time, in any port around Europe to connect digital infrastructures.”
Now that the DataPorts has come to a close, it is hoped that the Cognitive Data Platform will be adopted and implemented across the EU, driving growth, efficiency and sustainability in all our seaports.