Predictive power unleashed

In April 2021 as part of Singapore Maritime Week, Tan Chong Meng, the then CEO of PSA International, stated that digital twin technologies were one of the most important areas of investment for terminal operators moving forward.

“A Digital Twin forces you to know the processes you know in the first place…. if you are attempting to build a digital twin… you are aware of the current baseline of where you are starting from. Once you have the knowledge, you can evolve and refine solutions by learning from the data – and you can really make an impact,” he stated, as part of highlighting how new technologies were helping reduce carbon consumption.

PSA confirms that it is still heavily focussed on Digital Twins in 2026 and beyond. This is confirmed by Ms Tan Liang Hui, Vice President, Tuas Development & Strategic Port Technology, who underlines: “Digital Twins provide a potentially powerful platform for understanding, predicting and optimising increasingly complex port operations. As digital twins converge with AI, automation and advanced analytics, they will remain an important enabler in advancing nodal excellence at our ports, helping PSA deliver greater reliability and visibility for our customers, in line with PSA’s Node to Network strategy designed to build smarter and more resilient supply chains for the future.”

A DATA-DRIVEN VIRTUAL REPLICA

Hexcoder Technologies offers a good definition of the concept of Digital Twins. The Indian headquartered company specialises in providing digital solutions, including web development, mobile app development, UI/UX design, and emerging technologies like AR/VR and AI-driven applications, and states:

“A digital twin creates a live, data-driven virtual replica of physical assets, operations, and processes within a port. Unlike static models or dashboards, digital twins are constantly updated in real-time with data from sensors, IoT systems, terminal equipment, and operational platforms.”

Of course, Digital Twins are not restricted to just the port industry and are used globally across almost all industries, as Hapag Lloyd endorses: “Whether in space, aviation or freight transport, digital twins are playing an important role in many areas to mimic certain conditions and thus identify problems at an early stage.”

Within the port sector, however, how is the concept continuing to advance?

Axel Mattern, CEO, Port of Hamburg Marketing, states: “The Port of Hamburg has been working with digital twin technology for several years, particularly in the field of infrastructure monitoring and predictive maintenance. One example is the Köhlbrand Bridge, one of the port’s most important transport links. As part of a smart bridge pilot project, hundreds of sensors were installed to continuously monitor the condition of the structure. The data helps identify changes, stresses or potential weak points at an early stage, allowing maintenance and repair work to be planned more precisely and before serious damage occurs.

“This approach reduces the risk of unexpected closures, minimizes disruption to port traffic and supports more efficient maintenance planning. Instead of relying only on periodic inspections, the port can combine inspection data with real-time sensor information and make better-informed decisions about the condition of key infrastructure.”

PSA underrlines: “At PSA in Singapore, we view digital twins as a potential key enabler of smarter, data-driven port and supply chain operations. These capabilities are being applied to support the planning, testing and optimisation of terminal operations. Leveraging emerging digital twin capabilities, we create dynamic digital representations of operational processes, equipment and infrastructure with real-time data incorporated to optimise port operations and maintenance.

The global operator says that it also uses digital twins to evaluate different scenarios, simulate operational impacts before physical implementation, and make more informed decisions on resource deployment and capacity planning.

As a result, Digital Twin technology remains what PSA refers to as an “import component” of its digital transformation journey to “build more resilient, sustainable and intelligent” supply chain ecosystems. It elaborates: “As global trade and supply chains become more dynamic and unpredictable, digital twins strengthen our ability and agility to respond to changing customer demands, evolving trade patterns and sustainability objectives.

“The evolution of related technologies, including AI, equipment automation, 5G, IoT technologies and advanced analytics all contribute to enriching the potential value of digital twins in port operations,” the global operator emphasises.

DISCONTINUED IN ROTTERDAM

The Port of Rotterdam relates interesting experience in the sector. “The Digital Twin programme has been discontinued as an integrated project, but its individual components are being continued (by the various digital and data teams),” says a spokesperson.  Each individual part, it is further noted, represents a key component of the port’s Port Vision 2030 plan, which aims to establish the world’s first fully digital and intelligent port by 2030. The building block s of this are:

• Autonomous Shipping: The digital twin supports the port authority’s goal of enabling autonomous navigation within the port by 2030
• Predictive Analytics: Real-time data allows predictive scheduling for vessel docking, cargo handling, and maintenance, improving efficiency and safety
• Operational Optimization: By combining sensor data with AI, the port can optimize asset lifecycles, reduce manual inspections, and minimize environmental and operational impacts
• Collaborative Ecosystem: The project fosters collaboration among port stakeholders, research institutions, startups, and educational centres, creating an innovative ecosystem for maritime technology.

PSA states that it continues to build and enhance its digital twin capabilities by integrating rich operational data, simulation models, optimisation engines and AI-driven analytics into a common decision-support ecosystem. “With this, we can move from understanding what is happening to anticipating what may happen and determining the best course of action,” the company confirms.

In practical terms, PSA explains that its digital twin capabilities have progressed by:

• Providing greater visibility into operational performance and system interactions.
• Anticipating demand patterns, equipment requirements, and potential bottlenecks.
• Evaluating alternative resource deployment scenarios and recommending the best course of action.

“Collectively, these advancements have expanded the relevance of digital twins beyond day-to-day operational planning to support longer-term strategic decision-making, enabling PSA and its customers to anticipate disruptions, manage supply chain variability and make more informed logistics decisions,” the global operator adds.

Hapag Lloyd fields a shipping line perspective:

“Container shipping also requires constant diagnosis and forecasting to optimise processes. After all, shipbuilding is a highly complex field of development. Digital twins are also used in ports to address challenges such as efficiency, emission control, and ergonomics of operating systems,” the company states.

Specific examples involving shipping Hapag Lloyd highlights are:

• Predictive maintenance: Digital replicas of ship components, such as engines and propulsion systems, enable predictive maintenance by analysing real-time sensor data to anticipate failures and schedule proactive repairs, minimising downtime, and optimising performance.
• Supply chain visibility: Comprehensive digital twins of the supply chain provide real-time visibility into inventory levels, transportation routes, and delivery timelines, enabling companies to identify bottlenecks, mitigate risks, and improve overall supply chain resilience and responsiveness.
• Port operations optimisation: Virtual representations of port facilities, including berths, cranes, and storage areas, facilitate optimisation of port operations by simulating vessel berthing, cargo handling, and storage space allocation, leading to improved efficiency and reduced congestion.

NEXT STEPS

PSA says that Digital Twin technology remains firmly on its agenda:

“PSA continues to work on building greater visibility and understanding of end-to-end supply chain processes, with digital twin technology being a key enabler. PSA also continues to invest in areas that enhance the effectiveness and value of digital twin technology. These include strengthening real-time data connectivity between operational systems, equipment, sensors, and planning platforms to improve data fidelity and create more accurate digital representations of terminal operations. We continue, emphasises the company, “to expand the use of simulation and modelling capabilities to improve the speed and robustness of operational planning, infrastructure development, and resource optimisation across different operating scenarios.”

The port operator adds that by integrating AI and machine learning capabilities with digital twin environments, it is exploring ways to enhance forecasting, anomaly detection, and operational recommendations, in ways that are also more intuitive for humans to use. In addition, the company is exploring how digital twin technologies can support sustainability goals through better monitoring of operational performance, optimisation of resource usage and evaluation of carbon-reduction initiatives.

The Port of Hamburg is equally clear about its use of digital twins going forward. Mattern states: “In the long term, the integrated digital model can support both operational decisions and strategic port planning. Different scenarios, such as new terminal developments, infrastructure changes or future traffic flows, can be simulated in advance. This helps the port assess potential impacts on efficiency, costs, sustainability and resilience before decisions are made. For terminals, customers and logistics partners, the main benefit is a more reliable, transparent and better coordinated port operation.”

The last word goes to PSA, with the global operator offering a succinct summary of the usefulness of Digital Twins:

“For our customers, this translates into more reliable operations, better visibility of cargo movements, and improved predictability in how capacity and resources are planned across the supply chain. As we continue to develop Tuas Port in Singapore, digital twin technologies are increasingly important in supporting the entire development lifecycle – from design, commissioning, scaling to continuous operations improvement.

“Beyond enhancing terminal performance, these capabilities support PSA’s Node to Network strategy by strengthening connectivity, visibility, and coordination across our global network of ports and supply chain nodes. By modelling complex operational scenarios in a virtual environment, we can better manage implementation risks, improve operational readiness and resilience, and optimise performance across the wider network.”