The future of ports: sustainability, transparency and efficiency

Almost everything you see around you, whether it is a product or a raw material, once traveled on a shipThis makes ports essential infrastructure in trade and the global economy. Specifically, maritime transport represents more than 80% of global trade volume. Unfortunately, most of society was unaware of the impact shipping had on their daily lives until, in 2021, the giant ship Ever Given became stuck for over a week in the Suez Canal, causing absolute chaos in supply chains around the world.

It was as if all the lights on the Christmas tree had gone out because of one bulb. But instead of leaving us without decorative lights, it was the ships’ cargoes that were paralyzed, unable to reach their destinations. The associated economic activity came to a screeching halt, with resulting losses, and ports around the world had to be able to respond to the shipping crisis that each of them suffered. Can you imagine that all the airports in the world would suddenly collapse due to the failure of one plane? Well, something similar happened to ships and ports.

The point is that, as in air transport, the less time a ship spends at anchor, the better. That is why all actors in the ecosystem are tirelessly pursuing any strategy to achieve thisStreamlining the loading, unloading, maintenance and refueling operations of ships that occur at each port. The more innovation and creativity, the better, as evidenced by the fact that “container ships tend to spend more time in developing country ports than in developed country ports.” Maritime Transport Report 2023 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

“These averages respond to a combination of faster transmission, better infrastructure, and increased labor productivity,” the text explains. Because it could not be otherwise,Technology is the biggest driver of these improvements, as well as sustainability The organization warns that all maritime transport activity “accounts for approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions increasing by 20% in just one decade.”

To understand how this transformation is taking place and what innovations are driving it, in this episode of Tech Titans Talks in collaboration with Kyndryl, we speak with the Deputy General Manager of the Port of Barcelona, ​​Catalina Grimalt, whose organization has witnessed a process transformation and modernization that has culminated in the form of a modern, highly capable technology platform. And processing speed, however Increase cybersecurity and disaster recovery measuresThrough which they control all their operations.

According to the responsible person, the central axis of its current strategy focuses on sustainability, which is understood in three pillars: economic, environmental and social. It makes sense to take into account that “the main challenge facing this sector is what the maritime industry should do The process of transitioning towards decarbonisation while continuing to maintain economic growth“Balancing environmental sustainability, regulatory compliance and economic needs is vital to achieving a prosperous, equitable and resilient shipping sector for the future,” the UNCTAD report warns. It adds.

To achieve this balance, Grimalt explains how some technologies, such as 5G, help strengthen the three pillars of sustainability together: “It is one of the first private, but hybrid, 5G networks implemented in a large infrastructure. As a port across Europe in order to be Increasingly more efficient. Thanks to it, many operations of any type can be carried out without the need to expand or expand the spaces further.“.

In order to integrate this new form of communication, the Port of Barcelona has adopted a modern technological platform with greater processing power and speed, and greater cybersecurity and disaster recovery measures. By combining these improvements with other technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), the port is also enhancing the transparency of its operations.. Grimalt details: “Ports used to be seen as closed places where you know things are happening, but you don’t know exactly what’s happening to your goods, or where they are. By combining documentary exchange and the Internet of Things, we can provide (…) reliable information to the importer Or source about what happens to their goods.

In addition to the information, the fiber optic network they are installing throughout the infrastructure will, once in port, allow all ships the ability to connect to the electrical grid rather than having to continue to generate their own electricity by burning fuel. How could it not be otherwise? The organization is also building its own environmental digital twin. “We collect a lot of environmental data, whether from ships and terminal operations or data from our weather stations or our air and water quality sensors,” says Grimalt. “(…) We are very interested in monitoring this in real time, to be able To simulate what would happen if we plugged ships into electricity so they would stop emitting carbon dioxide2“.

While all these innovations are making their way, the person in charge already has some ideas in mind about where the port will develop in the coming years: “We imagine that there will be many services provided using drones, such as video surveillance systems for ships.” Grimalt realizes that these changes will reduce the number of workers dedicated to the operational part, because “it will be highly automated and will be able to be done almost without the need for people.” But this does not mean that the ports of the future will not need humans. “There will be more people working in equipment maintenance and in engineering and design. Of all these processes,” he concludes.

* Tech Titans Talks (T3) is a “Retina” dialogue space in collaboration with Kyndryl to bring to society the visions and strategies of different industry giants that are changing the realities around us through innovation and technology.

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