Floating debris does not belong in the port of Antwerp. To detect and clean this up as quickly as possible, Port of Antwerp is deploying drones, according to the company's release. It is just one of the innovative digital solutions that should make the port future-proof. Today, during her visit to the port, Minister Petra De Sutter got to see with her own eyes how solutions of this kind contribute to a clean and safe port.
Every year, about 50 tonnes of floating debris are collected from the docks in the port of Antwerp. This debris is made up of plastics, wood, cardboard, organic material and mooring lines. To reduce water pollution, impact on biodiversity and damage to ships, it is important to detect and clean up this waste as soon as possible. But since the total port area covers more than 120 km², many eyes are needed to screen this gigantic area. Thanks to the unique bird's eye views they provide, drones can make a significant contribution to detect floating debris. This is why Port of Antwerp has developed a "machine vision" application that, based on drone images, automatically builds a map that indicates where floating debris is present. With the use of drones, which will soon be flying over the entire port several times a day, floating debris can then be located and cleaned up more quickly and efficiently.
According to Port of Antwerp, the use of drones will play an increasingly important role in the port of the future. The ambition is to develop a network of autonomous drones that can provide a 'live feed' of the various port activities and support the Harbour Safety & Security (HSS) unit and its security partners as much as possible. The types of tasks that can be performed include inspecting infrastructure, surveillance and monitoring, incident management, berth management and the detection of oil spills or floating debris. To stream images from the drones in real time, 5G will be used in the future. This is already happening in incident management, as was the case last year when the fire department was supported by a live stream of drone footage via the 5G network to deal with a fire in the port area. Thanks to a combination of colour and infrared images, the fire department gained a better idea of the location of the fires.
About Port of Antwerp
As Europe's second-largest port, the Port of Antwerp is a major lifeline for the Belgian economy: more than 300 line services to over 800 destinations ensure global connectivity. The Port of Antwerp annually handles around 240 million tonnes of international maritime freight, and is home to Europe's largest integrated chemical cluster. The Port of Antwerp accounts, directly and indirectly, for a total of around 143.000 jobs and more than €20 billion added value.
True to its mission 'a home port vital for a sustainable future’, Antwerp Port Authority aims to flexibly respond to a rapidly evolving maritime market, allowing the port to continue playing its role as a leading world port. The emphasis in this respect is on cooperation, adaptability, a strong focus on innovation and digitisation, and on sustainable added value, as well as on responsibility towards society.
Antwerp Port Authority is a limited liability company of public law, with the City of Antwerp as sole shareholder. It employs over 1.600 people. Port alderman Annick De Ridder is chairman of the Board of Directors and Jacques Vandermeiren is CEO and President of the Executive Committee, which is responsible for the day-to-day management.