Port of Antwerp announced that its Deurganck dock on the left bank of the Scheldt is integrating a “smart quay” and an automatic sounding boat, that will make operations and berth maintenance more efficient. As such, Antwerp is laying the foundations for the “smart harbour”, the port of the future where smart technologies are used to make both land-side and water-side operations more efficient.
Piet Opstaele, Innovation Enablement Manager for the Port Authority, stated:
The smart quay will enable us to make more efficient use of the berths available in the dock. And the automatic sounding boat will also make berth management more effective and pro-active, with the emphasis on prevention rather than cure. The smart harbour in turn forms part of the ’Capital of Things’ that was rolled out last year by the City of Antwerp in collaboration with the Port Authority, the University of Antwerp and the innovation specialist imec. This took our ambitions to a whole new level, with the first practical initiatives coming on line just a few months after signature of the agreement.
As explained, a first idea is the quay to be equipped with cameras and sensors to check automatically whether a vessel is correctly berthed or not. In practice, a section of quay on the North-West side of the Deurganck dock has initially been fitted with these devices. The pilot project will run for six months and will cover barges as well as seagoing ships.
You can compare it with a car that enters a paying car park where there are designated parking spaces. If you park outside the boundaries of your allotted space then you are taking up not just one but two slots, thus reducing the overall capacity of the car park. The same applies to ships that ’park’ alongside the quay. If they fail to keep within the boundaries of their ’parking space’ then this reduces the berthing capacity of the quay.
In addition, one of the Port Authority’s responsibilities is maintaining the maritime infrastructure, but a large part of this infrastructure is under water, which makes inspection very difficult. Mr. Opstaele explains:
It frequently happens that we notice that something is wrong when it’s already too late, for instance if a lock gate refuses to operate. Diagnosing the fault and carrying out the necessary repairs means that the lock has to be temporarily closed, thus interfering with port operations. We want to reduce such situations to the absolute minimum.
As such, the Port Authority is calling upon various technologies for the necessary smart maritime inspections. The first is Waterview, by analogy with Google’s Streetview. This extensive database of photographs of quay walls, fenders, bridges etc. will make it possible to detect damage sooner, so that it can also be repaired more quickly.
Another technology is the automatic sounding boat which will be making its way around the Deurganck dock after the end of the summer, taking soundings in the commercial berths. This will give an up-to-date picture of the depth of water in the various berths.
Finally, a 3D model of the Kieldrecht lock will be used to assist with preventive maintenance. The model will be used to construct a virtual reality of the lock so that the maintenance team can look “under water” to see where the defect might be, and so take more effective action.
What is more, as of this autumn, visitors to Port House will be able to add an extra dimension to their tour of the Port Authority’s headquarters, with the addition of augmented reality and laser projection, currently under development. Visitors will be then able to view various types of ships sailing past.