Page 16 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 01.19

THE HAMBURG VESSEL COORDINATION CENTER – HVCC NETWORKS SHIPPING COMPANIES AND TERMINALS TO OPTIMIZE SHIP HANDLING
■ FUTURE PORT
Port of Hamburg trailblazing digital integration
Underwater drones, driverless trucks, paperless customs clearance – Tomorrow has already arrived today in the Port of Hamburg.
For Dr. Sebastian Saxe, Chief Digital Officer of Hamburg Port Authority – HPA, digitalization is no topic for the world of tomorrow: Today the traffic in the port, wheth- er on rail, water or road is digitally controlled. “These learning experiences are important for the whole city and applicable to the complex transport system,” says Saxe. Next year, artificial intelligence will already be a major topic in channelling traffic. The ‘Green4Transport’ project should interact with intelligent traffic lights, guid- ing trucks across intersections in columns. With the in- troduction of 5G in the port test area, this will facilitate the implementation of further visionary projects. This in- frastructure is necessary to set out on our way forward with all of the port players.
But, where drones are concerned, or to give them their technical name, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) are impossible to overlook in the port. HPA is already suc- cessfully using UAVs for surveying and inspecting build-
ings and quay-walls. For example, drones are being flown around the Köhlbrand bridge supports, checking for damage. Moving forward, it is also perfectly conceiv- able that underwater drones will monitor sedimentary deposits in the River Elbe, or automated drone systems used for maintenance or emergency management. HH- LA, too, is successfully using drones – automated ones – on its terminals. Jan Bovermann, Head of Corporate Development, stresses that a continuous advance of automation can only be achieved by integrated, inclu- sive thinking. “A company’s digital culture cannot be measured by how many block chain projects are being set up. Vision, culture and cooperation are the decisive factors. This also means involving staff, customers, ser- vice providers and suppliers to an equal extent,” states Bovermann.
Ulrich Wrage, CEO of Dakosy, the IT service provider specialized in logistics, places the accent in the Port of Hamburg on its digital culture. In the meantime, the port has reached a digitalization level of 95 percent. Some 2,000 companies are involved. This result has been mainly achieved through
trust.
All of the companies in- volved in the transport chain have been linked to the Dakosy platforms to integrate and accelerate processes. “Dakosy’s secret has been in in- volving all players, in- cluding those who have been in direct competi- tion with one another,” says Wrage. This may have led to rivalry now being a thing of the past: Customs clearance is set in motion digitally while the container is still ap- proaching Hamburg. Just how well network- ing functions between
16 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | March 2019
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