The contribution from EfficienSea2 has led to a huge step towards standardisation of e-navigation services at large, and directly answers the project’s first specific objective.
1. Identify, develop, test and, where possible, standardise and implement e-navigation solutions that will reduce the risk of accidents, especially in dense waterways, as well as increase the efficiency of the transport chain.
An e-navigation service for MSI (Maritime Safety Information) has been created. The online based system is believed to become the new standard for promulgating maritime safely information as well as ‘notices for mariners’ which are the official notices leading to marine chart updates. The EfficienSea2 project has been serving as an IHO test-bed for this solution. The flexible system, based on IHO standards and open source programming, is being rolled out in the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and has been adopted in the Gulf of Guinea by the Ghana Maritime Authority.
2. Develop, test and, where possible, implement e-maritime solutions for automated reporting and efficient port information and, thus, minimise delays and turnaround times as well as administrative burdens.
A concept and structure for automated port reporting has been developed. The solutions provided, building on the MCP concept and the open-source based digital architecture has been validated by test-bed implementations. The test runs have confirmed that the solution gives the desired effects: a reduced administrative workload for the ship owner and mariner operating at sea. The MCP enables efficient port visits (developed by the STM project) where involved parties are synchronized in their operations.
3. Create and implement navigational support services and a new self-organizing emergency response solution in remote and difficult environments such as the Arctic in order to reduce the risk of loss of life.
A web-based, digital platform for arctic e-navigation solutions, ‘ArcticWeb’, has been created, with various services supporting navigation (route exchange, weather info, online reporting interface). All navigation support services are platform independent, which means they can be accessed by any vessel with connection to the internet, not only to a limited number of test vessels with specific installed test equipment.
4. Develop solutions to monitor emissions with a focus on SOx and conduct validation trials in the Baltic Sea Region.
A machine-to-machine solution for monitoring SOx emissions has been successfully tested. It is expected that continuous monitoring will encourage ship owners to fully comply with emission regulations compared to a setup with rare occasional inspections. For the righteous shipping line, automated and continuous emission reporting will contribute to more fair competition, by making fuel/emission fraud more difficult.
5. Create innovative and cost-effective solutions with novel communication technology to deal with ships’ challenge of getting access to information services at a reasonable price, especially in remote places such as the Arctic.
The software simulator of the VDES terrestrial component’s physical layer has been developed. The resulting software is fully compliant with the current version of the VDES technical specification, i.e. the recommendation ITU-R M.2092-0. A successful trial was carried out on the Gedser-Rostock Ro-Ro ferry on the 27th April 2018. Results of the simulation analysis have been taken forward at relevant IALA sessions and will serve as a technical input that helps finalize the VDES standard.
6. Set the technical and governance standard for the above areas, particularly in regards to e-navigation solutions.
Technical standardisation is well on track, and progress is being made for these to be implemented in the representative governance bodies. More specifically:
• The MCP service specification guideline was adopted by IALA in 2017.
• Specific standards for VDES is underway in IALA and ITU. Final standardisation expected to be finished a couple of years after completion of EfficienSea2 (in 2021).
• A new standard for Navigational Warnings and Notices to Mariners (S-124) is expected to be in place in IHO with the new S-100 standard.
• Standards for S-101 based sea-charts are underway in IHO and is expected to be in place in 2019.
• Practical experiments with the existing RTZ route format in EfficienSea2 has resulted in an updated version which has been published by CIRM.
As for the deliverables defined in Grant Agreement, all 63 have been finalized and submitted through the participant portal – System for Grant Management.
