Within the framework of a partnership previously announced between Tanger Med Port Authority and Wärtsilä Voyage which aims at digitalizing maritime port calls, Tanger Med, Hapag-Lloyd, and Anglo-Eastern Ship Management reportedly recorded success with what is touted as the world’s first digitally controlled port arrival.
The ‘Kobe Express’, a container ship owned by Hapag-Lloyd and managed by Anglo Eastern, docked safely and on-time at Tanger Med port in Morocco on June 25 using the Wärtsilä Navi-Port system, a digital platform designed to facilitate the exchange of real-time data between ships and their destination ports to allow accurate arrival times.
The Kobe Express, a Bermuda-flagged container ship with a carrying capacity of 4612 TEU, docked safely at Tanger Med on the Strait of Gibraltar on 25 June having sailed in from Cartagena in Colombia.
“This is a momentous accomplishment. We have moved beyond pilot and testing projects to real-life applications, and we see this as kick-starting a trend that will make both shipping and port operations more efficient and less carbon intensive,” said Dmitry Rostopshin, General Manager for Ship Traffic Control at Wärtsilä Voyage.
Wärtsilä Voyage and Tanger Med Port, the largest Mediterranean and African container port, are jointly developing a Port Management Information System (PMIS) with PortLink and featuring Wärtsilä’s Navi-Port system. A key aim of the PMIS is to facilitate JiT ship arrivals and enhance the port’s ship traffic control protocols.