: NEW TECHNOLOGY Continuous Marine Safety
A real-time approach to risk management in the port By Dr. Scott Beatty, CEO MarineLabs
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s the business of port operations becomes more complex, several port operators have turned to using real-time marine monitoring to improve both efficiency and marine safety. This new approach, dubbed Continuous Marine Safety, has helped them become more resilient to volatile weather and high traffic volumes, and keep up with rapid growth. “When the wind is blowing three knots in the inner harbour, 12 knots at the entrance, and 27 knots out at Triple Island, MarineLabs’ data affords an enhanced level of safety for our commercial and recreational traffic. With this information, we are able to more safely schedule vessel movements, maintain better awareness of the real-time conditions in our anchorages and run a safer and more efficient operation. It’s precisely this type of data that will enable our anticipated growth and makes our safe Port even safer,” said Brent Baxter, Manager of Marine Operations with the Prince Rupert Port Authority.
Even during a global pandemic, container volume in many Pacific ports increased by double digits and the forecast of traffic through 2025 remains aggressive. Growth in port traffic continues to accelerate. Even during a global pandemic, container volume in many Pacific ports increased by double digits and the forecast of traffic through 2025 remains aggressive. Orders for newbuild of containerships in Q4 of 2020 were the highest in five years, and the average size of a shipping vessel continues to increase. The first ship over 20,000 TEU was christened just four years ago, in March of 2017; there are more than 75 in use today, and another 50 will be completed in the next three years. “Based on these dynamics, we assume that around 10 per cent of all container ships in 2025 will have a capacity of 14,000 TEUs and larger.” according to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development’s 2018 “Container Ship Size and Port Relocation” Discussion Paper. Port shifts are also becoming increasingly common; this means that the pressure on port operators to support these increases in ship size and frequency is higher than it has ever been. “The volatility and extent of port shifts have become much larger over the last years,” according to that same report. Weather and sea conditions are increasing in severity and becoming more volatile. Globally, we now see extreme weather events that were forecast to happen once every century, happening every 16 years. Climate change is not only increasing volatility, but the uncertainty in these forecasts is accelerating as well. While terminal operators, pilots, and the broad ecosystem of marine partners continue to refine their capabilities, the expectations of regulators and the public are also increasing. There is less tolerance for incidents, and no patience for delay in responding to them. Taken together, these shifts have and will continue to dramatically change the nature of marine risk. When risk changes, our approach to safety must change as well.
Continuous Marine Safety Wind comparisons for the Port of Prince Rupert detailed through MarineLabs’ CoastAware™. 32 — PACIFIC PORTS — April 2021
In much the same way that smartport systems have allowed coordinated loading and unloading activities to
