High-level qualification of the Maritime Cloud
The Danish-led e-Navigation project EfficienSea2 got one step closer to being launched when a core element of the project, the Maritime Cloud, was debated yesterday by a group of international maritime organisations and companies.
The purpose of the EfficienSea2 project is to develop and implement e-Navigation and, thus, up-to-date technology on board ships by introducing and using modern communication, navigation and administrative systems. The concept behind the Maritime Cloud has been developed by the Danish Maritime Authority in connection with previous international projects. By now, it has matured so much that it is ready to receive feedback from relevant international maritime organisations and companies.
High-level User Group gives advice on how to manage the Maritime Cloud
Yesterday, the project’s High Level User Group, consisting of international organisations and companies, gathered to debate the concept behind the Maritime Cloud. Bjørn Borbye Pedersen from the Danish Maritime Authority says:
”We have been working with the concept of the Maritime Cloud for a couple of years and look much forward to listening to input from the most important global maritime players. We are keen to hear their perspectives on how such a global communication infrastructure can be managed and which business models can support it.”
The group consists of international maritime organisations such as ICS, BIMCO, CESMA, IALA and the Nautical Institute, technological companies such as Ericsson, Maersk Maritime Technology and IBM as well as potential e-navigation service providers and authorities.
The Maritime Cloud is a concept for a global, standardised infrastructure for sharing maritime information. Basically, it consists of a service register making information services available – just as it is known from an app store – as well as an identity register, where both users and suppliers have a secure identity. The Maritime Cloud also has a number of common functions, such as a login and intelligent ways of transmitting and receiving information.
Global roll-out of the Maritime Cloud
The Danish Maritime Authority expects that the first version of the Maritime Cloud will be ready as part of the project before the end of 2016. The next step will be to finalise digital services within the fields of navigation, automatic reporting and monitoring of ships’ emissions, which will increase efficiency and safety of navigation.
The 32 partners of the EfficienSea2 project cooperate with a number of international organisations such as the IMO, IALA, IHO and CIRM on standardisation and international dissemination of the solutions. Bjørn Borbye Pedersen from the Danish Maritime Authority explains:
“If we are to succeed with the ambition to create a global infrastructure, it is decisive to have the most important global stakeholders on board. It is positive to see that other projects in Sweden and South Korea have chosen to base their solutions on the infrastructure of the Maritime Cloud.”