Innovation

Blue Line Logistics is involved in several innovation developments related to inland waterway transport. These include digitalising information regarding cargo, autonomous operation of vessels, autonomous mooring, alternative propulsion, communication, etc...

Blue Line participates extensively in the following projects :

AUTOSHIP – Autonomous Shipping Initiative for European Waters

Autoship aims at speeding-up the transition towards a next generation of autonomous ships in EU

Europe is effectively supporting new paradigms of multimodal transport to develop sustainable businesses and relieve roads congestion and related pollution. Since 2001, the concept of a Motorway of the Sea (MoS) has been developed. At its base, there is a new intermodal maritime-based logistics chain in Europe and EU target is to shift 30% of road freight of more than 300 km to multimodal solutions by 2030 (corresponding to 216 bn tonne-kilometres), and more than 50% by 2050, compared with business as usual developments. However, its capacity in this scenario is not keeping the pace yet and it needs improvement. In fact, coastal short-sea shipping and inland waterways struggle with competition from trucks in many parts of Europe and are losing relative market shares to road transport.

AUTOSHIP responds to the call topic MG 3.2-2018 by joining a whole necessary value-chain of global players to define, enhance and test in real environment a Next Generation of Autonomous Ships, integrating evolutionary as well as novel technologies. Building on partners’ advanced technologies and know-how, the proposed vessels will upgrade them and dramatically impact on businesses and competitiveness. In the meantime, the framework to make NGAS navigation possible and socially accepted will be better assessed with direct engagement of relevant authorities.

The project’s ambitions will leverage on advanced Key Enabling Technologies, solid industrial investments and business worldwide, along with participation in all major stakeholders’ organisations to deliver the first technology on the market in a short term. It is an ambition with a solid base in the involved value-chain and in the financial and commercial commitment, which makes AUTOSHIP a real market-oriented project.

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ST4W

ST4W proposes a management solution for shipment by inland waterway transport, providing to small stakeholders a simpler and cheaper access to secure data, and enabling them to share a hierarchical track & trace service of shipment at logistics unit level : what pallet in what vessel ?

ST4W solution will provide an end to end seamless visibility to supply chain stakeholders :

  • Automatic update of logistics unit status (pallet, container …)
  • Real-time update of ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) of each logistics unit, throughout the multimodal supply chain
  • Automatic alert in the case of delay or loading the wrong logistics unit
  • Electronic proof of delivery at each step

This cloud-oriented platform is based on GS1 standards, where everyone is master of his own data and shares it only with chosen partners.

A sustainable and closer cooperation between waterway actors and their supply chain partners will enable more clients to make use of waterway transportation (from mental shift to modal shift), and consequently to reduce CO2 emissions of their logistics operations.

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