In an announcement released by the the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), it is noted that European shipowners welcome the Transport Council’s conclusions on the digitalisation of transport adopted earlier this week.
These conclusions emphasize the importance of digitalisation for the European economy and competitiveness and confirms the EU’s ambition to become a global leader in this area.
“Digitalisation is already very present in our sector and we welcome the attention given to it by the Transport ministers”, commented Martin Dorsman, ECSA Secretary General.
Specifically, Martin Dorsman, ECSA Secretary General stated: “As the Council conclusions propose, a genuine European single window should be provided, based on the “reporting once” principle and the use of a harmonised electronic cargo manifest in order to set up a European Maritime Transport Space without Barriers. This is something we have stressed for a long time to improve the efficiency. Together with Transport Council we also want to support the International Maritime Organization’s work in facilitating the uptake of new technologies and digitalisation on board ships”.
ECSA added that it is crucial to keep in mind the importance of privacy, data protection and cyber security, as well as the new skills needs. Cyber Security will indeed be critical with the increased use of digital tools in the maritime industry.
In a recent article, Transas CEO Frank Coles mentions that in order to realise the full potential of digitalisation, the maritime sector must focus on behavioural change by the human element.
Failing to appreciate and understand properly how people – and by extension organisations – interface with new technology can lead to poor implementation and unnecessary exposure to risk.
