Short Sea Pioneer Logistics System and Ship Concept Development

The Short Sea Pioneer logistic system represents the next generation of short sea shipping and addresses the major challenges today´s cargo ship owners experience. The project aims to develop an energy-efficient, low-emissions logistics system for cargo transport, enabled through the Short Sea Pioneer (SSP) concept. The transport vessel concept is developed and facilitated by the Norwegian Centre of Expertise Maritime CleanTech (NCE MCT) and its cluster partners with a specific interest in cargo transport. The SSP consists of two ship types: Mother vessel and daughter/feeder vessel. The mother vessel travels along the main route and carries goods to/from major harbours, while daughter/feeder vessels serve as the connection between the mother vessels (on the main route) and smaller port locations, delivering cargo to/from smaller locations along the coast. The combined use of the ships as a logistics system shall contribute to move cargo from road to sea through offering regularity, flexibility and availability, leading to cost reductions and reductions in emissions per cargo unit for the end client (cargo owners and transporters). Project results achieved are; evaluation of infrastructure and operational factors impacting the ship concept. Tools for optimizing the logistics operation, but also assessing the effect of possible environment and efficiency savings from various combinations of vessel sizes and, or fuel types. Optimized design of mother- and daughter vessels at GA level that significantly increases cargo transfer efficiency in relation to current ship types, while minimizing the environmental impact of ship activity. A partly autonomous mother and daughter cargo handling/stowage design have been developed, as well as the corresponding system for the durable and unloading of goods. An in-depth macroeconomic and business case of the ship concept has been made. Achieved results will be used as input for realizing parts or the whole innovative ship concept in a pilot phase.

Virkninger og effekter i prosjektet er vurdert igjennom en spørreundersøkelse som ble administrert til alle prosjektets deltagere på slutten av året 2018. Utover prosjektresultater som er nevnt i resultatrapporten er det fra deltakeren gitt tilbakemelding på følgende virkninger fra SSP prosjektet. Flesteparten av deltagerne noterte at det i prosjektperiden er blitt utviklet tette bånd mellom deltagerbedriftene. Videre har prosjektet bidratt positivt inn til bedriftene i maritimt clean tech igjennom at prosjektet er brukt som eksempel og mal på design thinking innovasjons prosesser i flere sammenhenger. Samarbeidet med FOU institusjonene har også være godt, og bedriftene har fått god kontakt med både sintef ocean, SNF samt operasjonsoptimaliserings miljøet på NTNU samt shipping miljøet på NHH.

The Short Sea Pioneer logistic system represents the next generation of short sea shipping and addresses the major challenges today´s cargo ship owners experience. The project aims to develop an energy-efficient, low-emissions logistics system for cargo transport, enabled through the Short Sea Pioneer (SSP) concept. The transport vessel concept is developed and facilitated by the Norwegian Centre of Expertise Maritime CleanTech (NCE MCT) and its cluster partners with specific interest in cargo transport. The SSP consists of two ship types: Mother vessel and daughter/feeder vessel. The mother vessel travels along the main route and carries goods to/from major harbours, while daughter/feeder vessels travels continuously between the mother vessels (on the main route) and smaller port locations, delivering cargo to/from smaller locations along the coast. The combined use of the ships as a logistics system shall contribute to move cargo from road to sea through offering regularity, flexibility and availability, leading to cost reductions and reductions in emissions per cargo unit for the end client (cargo owners and transporters). This project aims to develop a competitive, energy efficient, low-emission logistics system for cargo transport, enabled through the Short Sea Pioneer (SSP) concept. To achieve this, existing transport requirements from cargo owners and transporters regarding price, time, frequency and regularity shall be used, in order to develop functional system specifications. Ship technical design including cargo handling systems and ship-to-ship docking systems shall be developed, fulfilling these requirements. The proposed project is seen as an initial phase for a full-scale demonstration project, provided the results are in favor of materialising this opportunity. This project phase shall result in a draft project plan including budget and schedule for a possible next phase for realising the SSP concept.