Port call first

Within the framework of a partnership previously announced between Tanger Med Port Authority and Wärtsilä Voyage – which aims at digitalising maritime port calls -Tanger Med, Hapag-Lloyd, and Anglo-Eastern Ship Management have succeeded in enabling the initiative.

“This is a momentous accomplishment,” said Dmitry Rostopshin, general manager for ship traffic control at Wärtsilä Voyage. “We have moved beyond pilot and testing projects to real-life applications, and we see this as kick-starting a trend that will make both shipping and port operations more efficient and less carbon intensive.”

Just-in-Time arrival

Hapag-Lloyd’s Bermuda-flagged container ship Kobe Express, managed by Anglo Eastern, docked safely and on-time at Tanger Med port in Morocco on 25 June using the Wärtsilä Navi-Port system. The vessel, which has a carrying capacity of 4612 TEU, sailed from Cartagena in Colombia.

Wärtsilä Voyage’s Navi-Port system is a digital platform that facilitates the exchange of real-time data between ships and their destination ports to allow accurate arrival times. The system exchanges required time of arrival digitally with the onboard navigation system and allows a ship’s speed schedule to be adjusted for a Just-in-Time (JiT) arrival by the clicking of one button, thereby saving fuel and costly waiting time at anchor.

Wärtsilä Voyage and Tanger Med Port are jointly developing a Port Management Information System (PMIS) with PortLink and featuring Wärtsilä’s Navi-Port system. A key aim of the PMIS is to facilitate JiT ship arrivals and enhance the port’s ship traffic control protocols.