• 2019 February 5 17:01

    Port of Rotterdam launches Port Insight service to track barges

    Port Insight started on 20 November: the joint venture of the Port of Rotterdam Authority with TWTG, a progressive player in the development of I-IoT solutions (industrial internet of things). Port Insight is developing various services with the first achievement being the new service with which barges can be tracked across a large part of Europe. The service will be operational for the first clients in early 2019. ‘Port Insight will have a lot of impact on the sector and will contribute to being a smart port’.

    The port is full of them: steel barges in which bulk goods such as ores, grain or sand are transported via rivers to the hinterland. A barge can be up to 100 metres long is constructed entirely from steel. Such a barge is pushed by another vessel, the pusher, which is why the barge doesn’t have its own engine. A pusher can push up to six barges at a time.

    Which barges are berthed where and for how long is monitored manually by the barge operators. ‘It’s a process that involves a lot of paperwork’, explained Vincent Campfens, Business Consultant from the Digital & Information Technology department at the Port Authority. Vincent is mainly involved in the application of sensor technology and data communications in the port area.

    ‘There are so many barges in the port, we don’t actually know which barges are where and how many there are. The operators and users often have to make lots of calls to chase these up. And port dues are mandatory for a barge. If the barge operator doesn’t have an annual season ticket, it is supposed to send a monthly overview of all barge movements. The Port of Rotterdam Authority uses this to send an invoice to the barge operator. It’s a system that involves considerable administration and is prone to error. The Harbour Master's Division also needs to monitor barge safety and enforce safety regulations. In short, keeping on top of all this is a rather time-consuming challenge for the Port Authority and operators.’

    Developers within the Port Authority decided that this needed to be smarter, more transparent and easier. Vincent: ‘Ten years ago tracking parcels we’d posted was quite difficult, but using an app for this is now simply the norm. We wanted to make barges available in the digital world.’

    The Port Authority found a partner for this in TWTG, an innovative company that often uses Internet of Things technology. IoT is a network of physical objects, such as cars, machines and equipment with sensors that makes connections with the internet to exchange data.

    Goran Gavric, Director of TWTG: ‘For instance, take your smartphone; this works in different ways, via Wi-Fi, the mobile network or Bluetooth. You should view IoT in the same way. We have created a complete technical solution for Port Insight: the transponder with the track and trace function and the software platform. Users can see where vessels are on this platform. They can use the dashboard for easy arrangements of declarations for port dues and for planning. We listened really well to users during the development. We’ve made the transponder technology suitable now for solutions that we want to introduce in the future. This includes an availability overview for berths, similar to the system you often see for parking spaces in a city or car park. Or that an operator gives the cargo owner or the receiving client a track and trace code, as now happens with mailed parcels.’

    And, of course, barges don’t only sail in the Rotterdam region. Goran: ‘We aim to offer the product to other ports and other countries too. That’s why the Port of Rotterdam Authority is working with TWTG under the name Port Insight to offer this service throughout the market, so that other parties can also benefit. Port Insight will ensure that the sector works better and more efficiently. As Rotterdam company, we’re really proud that we’re doing this with the Port Authority.’




2024 March 28

18:05 Jan De Nul, ENGIE and Equans launch a pilot project centred around the use of Vanadium Redox Flow batteries
17:35 Latvian port equipment manufacturer Bleste introduces new bulk handling ‘bucket’
17:05 Investors upgrade Navios Maritime Partners
16:25 DEME reports 22% increase in the orderbook and a record-high turnover of 3.3 billion euros in 2023
16:14 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 13, 2024
15:41 AD Ports Group announced the opening of Saadiyat Marina & Ferry Terminal and Rabdan Marina
15:11 Sydney invests $11.5 million in two new operational vessels designed by Incat Crowther
14:55 China’s Jinzhao wins Peru $405m port construction contract
14:13 APM Terminals Moín handled six million TEU
13:48 ClassNK grants Innovation Endorsements for Products & Solutions to two innovative initiatives by MOL
13:37 Konecranes launches its flagship Konecranes X-series industrial crane
12:53 United European Car Carriers UECC spearheads collaboration with industry leaders to advance CNSL as a sustainable marine fuel
12:26 Ocean Network Express announces Transpacific service
11:48 Yang Ming announces 2025 Trans-Pacific service network
11:24 Fincantieri signs contract for the supply of two PPAs to Indonesia
10:42 Maersk transported more than 660,000 TEU using clean fuel in 2023
10:23 Documentation delays push industry costs to $3bn
09:48 PONANT and FARWIND Energy partner to develop green hydrogen refueling solutions

2024 March 27

18:22 Bureau Veritas awards world’s first prototype certification for SolarDuck’s floating offshore solar solution
17:58 The recently converted Allseas's shallow water pipelay barge starts preparations for its first commercial project
17:38 The Port of Rotterdam calls on the European Commission and Parliament to focus on actively promoting green energy
15:23 SEFE to become sole shareholder of WIGA
14:53 Ocean Installer secures yet another SLM contract with Equinor
14:23 Cadeler signs offshore wind turbine installation contract for the vessel Wind Scylla
13:42 Carnival Cruise Line orders 5th Excel-class cruise ship
13:11 Maersk and MSC overcharging cargo owners for EU ETS, says T&E
12:52 The Port Authority of Valencia launches the ZAL project in the Port of Valencia
12:11 Clarkson Port Services and Peak Group collaborate to deliver Port Agency services across the North Sea
11:42 Wan Hai Lines holds ship naming ceremony for new vessels
11:24 Consolidated shipping lines EBIT loss was $1.44 billion in Q4 2023: Sea-Intelligence
10:49 Seaspan Shipyards receives long-term contracts for the pre-construction work of the the Canadian Coast Guard's first six multi-mission vessels
10:14 Woodside completes sale of 10% scarborough interest

2024 March 26

18:02 COSCO Shipping Lines introduces new Americas service
17:30 Davie awarded first contract for design of icebreaker fleet under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy
17:04 Sanctions complicate Arctic LNG ship sales, Hanwha Ocean says - Bloomberg
16:57 Terntank places an order for 1+1 additional wind/ methanol-ready hybrid tanker
16:28 BW LNG completes acquisition of two TFDE vessels from Stena Bulk
15:50 Hanwha Ocean develops VR-based special vehicle simulator
15:20 TotalEnergies and SINOPEC join forces to produce sustainable jet fuel at a SINOPEC's refinery
14:52 Wärtsilä Lifecycle Agreement to guarantee operational reliability of new wind farm installation vessel
14:23 Hudong-Zhonghua launches two LNG carriers
13:51 Cargo ship hits Baltimore’s Key Bridge
13:12 Final sanctioned tanker with Russian Sokol oil to reach China port - Reuters
12:42 Adani Ports acquires 95% of Odisha's Gopalpur Port from SP Group for $162 million
12:21 IHI and Yara Clean Ammonia agree to jointly assess clean ammonia business collaboration
11:41 Yara Clean Ammonia and Azane granted safety permit to build world's first low emission ammonia bunkering terminal
11:16 Wartsila and Royal Caribbean Group celebrate 15 years of collaboration on digital transformation
10:46 A global carbon tax on shipping is coming, says ABS Chairman and CEO
10:21 Eni, Fincantieri and RINA establish partnership for maritime transport decarbonization

2024 March 25

18:07 The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore continues to investigate reports of oil spills off the port of Tuas
17:31 “K” Line, NIPPON HAKUYO and OPT Gate sign an agreement for a new fire detection system for car carriers
17:07 Greek merchant fleet recorded slight decline in January 2024
16:47 Hanwha Ocean Plans to develop green technology and naval ships
16:25 U-Ming Singapore and ITOCHU sign milestone MoU for the joint development of ammonia dual-fuel and de-carbonized vessels
15:34 Svitzer targets methanol-fuelled MAN 175DF-M engine for tug application
15:04 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs contracts for four 9,300 CEU vessels with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard
14:40 Taiwan International Port to upgrade terminal facility at Kaohsiung
13:59 Сruise ship Carnival Freedom catches fire near Bahamas
12:59 Hanwha Ocean wins 2.4 tln-won order for 8 LNG ships
11:16 Inland Ports meet in Paris to talk about the innovation potential of inland ports
10:50 IMO agrees possible outline for maritime “net-zero framework”
10:24 Hapag-Lloyd to continue to avoid the Red Sea route
09:58 QatarEnergy enters time charter agreements with Nakilat for the operation of 25 LNG vessels

2024 March 24

16:18 Inchgreen Marine Park upgraded as part of £11m investment
15:14 A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Solent Rail Terminal Rail was held at the Port of Southampton
14:08 ESNA and Strategic Marine join forces to offer Surface Effect Ship (“SES”) Crew Transfer Vessels (“CTV”) to the market
13:07 First LNG powered vessel calls at HIP
12:49 Inter-array cable installation completed at Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm
11:32 Equinor ASA posts net income at USD 11.9 billion in 2023
09:25 Edda Wind announces the sale of Edda Passat