Project ETA Prediction & Emissions API

22 July, 2024

Summary:

According to a recent study, more than one third of the time spent by container ships in port is dedicated to entry and exit maneuvers, berthing, unberthing and waiting for port services. The remaining time corresponds to the actual loading and unloading processes. Factors influencing the timely arrival of the vessel in port include berth availability, ocean conditions or availability of services, among others.

The efficiency of port calls depends, therefore, on Port Authorities, terminals, shipping lines and, in short, all the agents involved being kept informed and receiving timely information updates, especially during the last hours prior to the start of a port entry or departure movement. This requires greater transparency, more efficient data exchange between cooperating agents and intelligent solutions to support the various processes.

In this sense, the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) establishes as its strategic mission of innovation to achieve the concept of Next Generation Port of Algeciras. An aspirational goal that involves implementing an advanced digital port orchestration platform that provides real-time visibility and greater operational predictability, among other functions. All this, with the aim of improving the competitiveness and synchronization of port-logistic operations to offer a differential service.

Based on this situation, and with the firm commitment to operational excellence, the APBA has collaborated with Awake.AI, a Finnish start-up specialized in Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for the maritime business, and SafetyTech Accelerator, the technology accelerator of Lloyd’s Register for the development of a Proof of Concept (PoC), called “ETA Prediction & Emissions API”.

The objective of this project, carried out during the first half of 2024, has focused on analyzing how accurate and reliable Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) predictions, using AI algorithms and AIS data, as ships announce their approach to the Port of Algeciras, could encourage Just-in-Time (JiT) arrivals, optimizing port call planning and improving overall operational efficiency.

Awake.AI customized its SaaS platform for APBA, by developing customized cloud computing analytics services, to provide via APIs, real-time situational awareness and decision support functions for planned port calls at the Port of Algeciras. Specifically:

1. Continuous updates of ETA for vessels scheduled to call at the Port of Algeciras.
2. Estimated CO2 emissions for the remaining sailing time of the planned calls.
3. Automated weekly analytical reports on detailed port area usage and related emissions estimates.
4. Key performance indicators (KPI) to identify areas and port calls with the greatest optimization potential and quantification of those savings.

The APBA was in charge of exploiting this data by creating a balanced scorecard to monitor vessel traffic. The creation of this scorecard required the integration of data from different digital systems of the Port Authority itself, such as its Port Management System (PMS), and different functionalities were deployed for:

1. To monitor, in real time, the planned port calls.
2. Identify on-time, early or late arrivals, as well as the behavior of cases with waiting times.
3. Analyze speed profiles and patterns of maritime navigation approaching the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar.
4. Develop KPIs with which to assess deviations from ETA forecasts, according to schedule, as a function of operational facilities, vessel type and other parameters.

The results obtained have allowed to understand how this type of solutions could be adapted to the particular case of the Port of Algeciras, covering several categories of port traffic, and how to manage global predictions of ship arrivals during maritime navigation. All this, in order to, in the future, continue to support operational decision making in order to promote JIT arrivals, thus minimizing waiting times and emissions.

The project’s innovation:

• Use of historical AIS data and real-time data, in combination with AI algorithms, to assist and improve decision making related to the management of ship arrivals.
• Exploiting AIS data and its metadata to develop, through different KPIs and dashboards, advanced analytics and Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities.

The project’s products:

• BI Scorecard for the detailed monitoring of vessel traffic in the Port of Algeciras, as well as for the monitoring of different key maritime navigation performance indicators for these vessels.

Usability/application:

• The future product could serve as a tool to support the planning of expected ship maneuvers in the Port of Algeciras, in order to optimize the provision of services.
• On the other hand, the solution could complement the Port Collaborative Decision Making tools, implemented in the APBA, to support the optimization of port calls following a JiT model.
• Likewise, the solution could provide a better knowledge of the maritime navigation behavior of the different port traffics, in their approach to the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar.