Three leading companies of the port sector join together to improve port efficiency at an international level

• The three partners of the new start-up company, SEAPort Solutions, are Fundación Valenciaport, Infoport Valencia and Híades Consulting.
• The main product of SEAPort Solutions is its software PAULA (Platform for AUtomatically Linking Agents), a technological solution from the family of PortCDM (Collaborative Decision Making) systems to optimize port call processes based on automated real-time information exchange among the stakeholders.

After months of work, SEAPort (Ship Efficient Approach at Port) Solutions S.L. has today been established. This entity is owned by Fundación Valenciaport, Infoport Valencia and Híades Consulting. It has been created with the aim of developing solutions and offering technological services that improve the efficiency of ship calls in ports through shared digital information.

SEAPort Solutions’ services are targeted at port authorities and operators and they have arisen from feedback received from different ports.

Our solution PAULA (Platform for AUtomatically LinKing Agents), which is the result of R&D projects with the three companies involved, is a pioneering tool in the maritime-port sector. It will facilitate data exchange, by means of the international standard IALA-S211, among all the agents that participate in the processes of port calls. The tool can be customized to the characteristics and particularities of each port and its operation. Thanks to this new software, authorities and operators will be able to increase the efficiency of port call processes, helping to reduce the turnaround time and, therefore, improving the efficiency of the ports themselves.

To ensure the success of the implementation, Seaport Solutions offers consulting services focused on analyzing the current situation, resulting in a mutual agreement on the scope of technical developments to be addressed to optimize the port call processes.

Background

The three partners of SEAPort Solutions SL played a key role in defining the scope and requirements, deploying the solution and integrating systems in the Port of Valencia. It was part of the field verification of the PortCDM (Port Collaborative Decision Making) concept, within the framework of the STM (Sea Traffic Management) Validation R&D Project.

Pilot tests of this new concept showed that only 40% to 65% of the time spent in port, depending on the type of ship, is dedicated to loading and unloading operations, confirming the potential margin for improvement of these processes.