A Cyprus based project has been launched to demonstrate the commercial next steps following the close of the latest part of an EU-funded sea traffic management (STM) validation project.
STEAM, which stands for Sea Traffic Management in the Eastern Mediterranean brings together commercial companies, research institutes and the Cyprus Shipping Association to develop one key element of the STM Validation Project, namely Port Collaborative Decision Making.
Port Collaborative Decision Making, or Port CDM is a communication standard and process that has been born out of a similar tool that was developed to help co-ordinate and improve efficiency at European airports. Port CDM, like the Airport CDM, aims to create better and automatic information exchanges between all the actors involved in a port call to reduce delays, increase cargo and vessel efficiency and reduce congestion. The concept can be used to share information between intra-port and harbour actors (including shipowners/vessel masters) as well as between ports
The ports of Cyprus, mostly the Port of Limassol will be the key port for this latest stage in the proof of concept of Port CDM. Alongside the Cyprus Ports Authority and the Cyprus Shipping Association in the STEAM project are Limassol-based technical and digital development firm Tototheo, Cyprus Subsea, a supply chain planning specialist, Delevant,a data collection, analysis and autonomous systems developer and RISE, the Research Institute of Sweden.
The Cyprus University of Technology will be coordinating the project which will last for three years with €1m budget from the Cyprus Research Foundation.
For Cyprus this project is clearly a drive to position Limassol as a key transshipment hub in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, a position it has to vie for with a number of other regional ports.
A Port CDM Council was formed in 2018 with the purpose of promoting the concept, as well as push for the development of a standard messaging format. That standard is currently under development with IALA.
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