Intelligent Ship Transport Systems

Skipsfarten spiller en global og ekstremt viktig rolle, ettersom nærmere 90% av verdenshandelen går på kjøl. Dette inkluderer essensiell last slik som mat, drivstoff og medisinsk utstyr. Også 90% av all last som kommer inn til Norge, kommer sjøveien. Sjøtransport er derimot en relativt liten sektor, med bare rundt 100 000 skip større enn 100 bruttotonn i internasjonal fart, sammenlignet med rundt 1,3 milliarder biler rundt om i verden. Utviklingen innen intelligente transportsystemer (ITS) har gått raskt for bilindustrien de siste 10 årene, men skipsfarten henger etter nå det gjelder å utnytte mulighetene som ITS gir. Selv om skipsfarten hadde en sterk og tidlig start på digitalisering fra rundt 1980, har den siste utviklingen resultert i at skipsfarten nå opplever et raskt økende digitalt gap sammenliknet med landbasert transport. Med en stadig sterkere etterspørsel etter energieffektivitet, bærekraftig drift, robuste forsyningskjeder, og beredskap er det et stort behov for å lukke dette gapet. Dette er spesielt knyttet til sømløs integrasjon mellom skipssystemer, havner og innlandstransport, det vi kan kalle "maritimt sammenkoblet ITS." Siden den maritime sektoren er relativt liten, vil neppe nye integrasjonsløsninger bli utviklet av markedet selv. Det er for mange forskjeller mellom IKT-systemene på individuelle skip og havner for enkelt å kunne distribuere nye og innovative løsninger som forenkler informasjonsutvekslingen mellom skip og land. Dette gjelder både datasystemene og protokollene for integrasjon mellom systemer. I løpet av dette prosjektet har partnerne bygget et sterkt internasjonalt nettverk med stor tyngde av industriaktører og representanter for disse. Sammen med dette nettverket har prosjektet bidratt til utviklingen av en overordnet arkitektur som kobler sammen de ulike maritime standardiseringselementene for på den måten å gi et bedre grunnlag for bruk og harmonisering av produkter og tjenester både nasjonalt og internasjonalt. Prosjektet har også utviklet en teknisk standard (ISO28005) for å utveksle informasjon mellom skip og land maskin-til-maskin og på den måten støtte automatisering av arbeidsprosesser relatert til maritim transport. Videre har prosjektet bidratt til utviklingen av standarder innen S-100-rammeverket, som fra 2026 blir innført for kartsystemene om bord.

Efficient digitalization in the maritime sector has traditionally been hindered by a strong “silo-tendency” between port state authorities, nautical information providers and the commercial operations. ISTS has, through its participation in ISO TC8 and as ISO observers in IMO, contributed significantly to connecting these silos. This is mainly through the work on the IMO Compendium https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Facilitation/Pages/IMOCompendium.aspx), that serves as a common semantic database between authorities (World Customs Organizations - WCO, IMO Facilitation Committee - FAL), Nautical service providers (International Hydrographic Office – IHO, International Association of Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities – IALA, and IMO Maritime Safety Committee – MSC) and the operational parties (represented by ISO TC8 and others). This has resulted in common semantic models on just in time arrival in port, noon reporting from ships and harmonization with nautical information for route exchanges (S-421) and port infrastructure (S-131). The ISTS-supported activities have also significantly extended the number of parties being involved in the work on the IMO Compendium as well as the general public interest in the work. The ISO standard 28005 on Electronic Port Clearance was updated with a new protocol description and new and updated data types to cover the implementation of all concepts described in the IMO Reference Model to support automated data transfer ship-shore. Specifically, this includes just in time and noon reporting requirements. This standard will be further used in the DynaPort project in addition to in the Green-Digital-Corridor initiative between Rotterdam and Singapore, by NAVTOR in their ship-shore communication, by Grieg Connect in extending their Port system, and it will also be mapped to the new European Single Window system (EMSWe) by EU. The ISTS project developed a maritime ITS architecture which is a framework to support the interoperability between technical standards and related ICT systems. This will be further developed in the DynaPort project as part of the development of standards and ICT system to support Just-in-Time processes of ships to ports. This will also be proposed as a new standardization activity in ISO TC8. For eNavigation, electronic charts, and single window systems, it is important to have a standardized way to describe route plans including waypoints and action points, especially when it comes to ship-shore exchange. The project has developed a converter from the RTZ format to the S-421 format, which will be very useful during the ECDIS transition from the old S-57 chart format to the new IHO S-100 framework for hydrographic information. The project has also investigated the use of internationally harmonized identifiers for port infrastructure. The main example used was the Maritime Resource name (MRN) proposed by IALA. The use of MRN was tested in the S-131 Marine Harbour Infrastructure standard.

The ISTS vision is the establishment of an international ITS architecture for the maritime sector to contribute to an interoperable and user-oriented maritime ICT ecosystem. When the Norwegian industry and authorities develop new digital services and systems, they can be deployed without hindrance in the worldwide market. By establishing an enabling architecture for maritime digitalisation, this project will also address the three following thematic priorities in the MAROFFs program plan: • Safety and security at sea through increased digitalization and e-navigation • Opportunities in ocean industries through a level playing field and reduced cost-base • Autonomous and remote-controlled vessels using digital standards for cost-effective and sustainable implementation ISTS is a cooperative and pre-competitive project to leverage industrial domain knowledge in the specifically selected domains and leading scientific and technical expertise on user requirements, ICT systems, and architectures. To realize the ISTS vision, close cooperation among many partners is imperative. Authorities will be central as they have been the main driving actors in standardisation so far. Equipment suppliers, class societies, and ports are users and developers that also need to be involved. Therefore, the project will facilitate close cooperation between all essential commercial maritime actors and R&D partners, and regulatory bodies, both nationally and internationally. The project is organized into six work packages; user orientation, architecture, standards development, international coordination, evaluation and verification, and project management. The project consortium consists of 14 partners and includes R&D, the maritime industry, service providers, and relevant authorities.