"We have taken steps in Rotterdam to become the smartest port in the world," says Paul Smits, Chief Innovation Officer of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. "Thanks to real-time information about infrastructure, water, air and many other areas, we can significantly improve the service for everyone using the port and prepare for the transition to connected, autonomous shipping."

Until now, Europe's largest port has used conventional radio and radar communication between captains, pilots, terminal operators and tugboats to coordinate port operations. This is now set to change as part of the port's digital transformation: sensors are being installed along the quay walls, jetties and roads on the 42 km of port grounds - from the city of Rotterdam to the North Sea. These sensors record various data streams on water levels, weather, wind, berth availability, visibility, tides and currents.

This data will then be analyzed and converted into information by IBM 's cloud-based IoT technologies in the future. The goals: Shorten waiting times, determine the optimum time for berthing and loading and unloading ships, as well as make better use of the available space and increase the capacity for handling ships. In future, shipping companies and the port should be able to reduce the time ships spend in port by up to one hour, saving up to 80,000 US dollars each.

In addition to the Port of Rotterdam Authority and IBM, Cisco and the IT service provider and software manufacturer Axians are also involved in the project.

Spare parts via 3D printing

The Port of Rotterdam Authority also announced that it has set up a new research and development laboratory called Rotterdam Additive Manufacturing LAB (RAMLAB), which comprises 30 partners. This is because the operators believe that high-quality technical spare parts should be available whenever and wherever they are needed - and at a competitive price. According to its own statements, the LAB is the first field laboratory for 3D printing that specializes in seaports and shipping companies and aims to ensure the availability of a large number of certified metal ship components. This production process incorporates cognitive IoT technology from IBM. Using a robotic welding arm, metals are applied layer by layer to produce components such as ship propellers on demand. While the conventional production process for the component of a particular ship usually took six to eight weeks, the component can now be manufactured in just 200 hours.