EMMA Extension partner Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) and Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) will support the Finish smart fairway- and Polish RIS pilot with technical knowledge and consultancy linked to common standardised interfaces to connect new digitalised data services and functionalities to external systems like ELIAS, such as real-time data regarding bridge clearance. This will enhance the capabilities of the ship operators and freight forwarders to carry out their route planning.

Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) will continue their work on the software prototype ELIAS and generate added value by implementing additional functionalities and applying modern data science techniques. ISL will implement additional functionalities to collect and display status information, available facilities and occupation of mooring areas.

The German EMMA Extension partners ISL and Port of Hamburg Marketing will also support the Finnish smart fairway pilot and the Polish RIS pilot with technical knowledge and consultancy linked to common standardized interfaces to connect new digitalized data services and functionalities to external systems like ELIAS. This will enhance the capabilities of the ship operators and freight forwarders to carry out their route planning.

THE GERMAN EMMA EXTENSION PILOT

We interviewed Arne Gehlhaar regarding the German EMMA Extension pilot. Arne works at the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), which is the other German project partner in EMMA Extension along with the project’s lead partner Port of Hamburg Marketing.

What do you consider the biggest achievement of the already ended project EMMA?

One of the biggest achievements was certainly bringing together experts from different countries and different sectors in pursuit of strengthening inland waterway transport sector in the Baltic Sea region. The EMMA project helped to initiate a change of mindset in the industry and in public administration into recognizing the full potential of this mode of transport under the specific circumstances of this geographic area.

What kind of expectations do you have for its extension, the EMMA Extension project?

I would like to see intensified cooperation with our partners across the Baltic Sea Region and the concepts and ideas resulting from the initial EMMA project brought to the market.

How would you describe your national EMMA Extension pilot?

The software prototype ELIAS is the result of a long series of research and implementation projects in several different programmes. It builds on the technical basis of the RIS standards while at the same time generating a new user experience. The goal is to maximize usability by collecting and combining distributed information and generating added value by applying modern data science techniques on the available data.

What are its expected results?

By integrating additional data sources and providing more and enhanced functionalities, the ELIAS prototype will mature and become even more valuable.

How will the pilot proceed during the EMMA Extension project (2019-2021)?

Based on the working prototype ELIAS as the result of the finished EMMA project, we will start investigating additional data sources and aligning them with the standard RIS data model. In parallel, the data analytics infrastructure will be set up in the first phase of the EMMA Extension project. We will start the implementation phase in early 2020 and add functionalities to the prototype. This process is planned to be finished by autumn 2020.

What kind of value do the EMMA Extension project and the pilot bring to your region?

ELIAS is designed to work with available data sources from any region falling under the EU RIS Directive or providing compatible services, such as regions with VTS/VTMIS. As such, it can benefit all these regions by serving as a collection of digital services and supporting the inland waterway transport industry on its way towards further digitalization.
 

In questions regarding the German EMMA Extension pilot, please contact:

Mr.  Arne Gehlhaar
Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics
Email: gehlhaar@isl.org
Tel: +49 421/22096-49