The Port of Rotterdam Authority is entering into partnerships with three maritime technology scale-ups in areas ranging from monitoring of water quality to smart insights into shipping operations, following their entry into the annual PortXL innovation programme.
The Port of Rotterdam will act as an incubator for the companies, examining their potential to make port operations safer, more efficient, and more sustainable.
Among the chosen three is TechBinder, created under a pilot scheme between Damen Shipyards and Schneider Electric. Its system uses a blend of asset monitoring and IoT technologies to assist shipyards and shipping companies in preventing defects and improving vessel performance. The Port Authority will examine how TechBinder’s products can add value to the management and optimisation of its own patrol vessels.
Also chosen was Water Insight, which specialises in monitoring and researching water quality by processing satellite data for large areas and carrying out optical measurements. Water Insight has also developed its own scanner, the WISP-3, for collecting local data. The Port of Rotterdam Authority and Water Insight will be examining whether it is possible to map sediment dispersal arising from specific dredging technology.
The final chosen company is i4sea, a developer of models that forecast the status of tides, currents, waves, wind and precipitation at a hyper-local level, advising on the predicted impact of weather on the operations of terminals, pilots, and other actors. Working with the Port it will conduct a study into how this information can add value to maritime traffic control.
