1st Blue Heritage Summit Thessaloniki: The digital transformation of Greek ports

The improvement of smart applications is simply a one-way way for Greek ports, offering important benefits successful terms of resilience during times of crisis, while state bureaucracy often acts arsenic a constraint connected these efforts. This was the cardinal takeaway from the sheet treatment connected Smart Ports held during the 1st Blue Heritage Summit Thessaloniki, with Naftemporiki arsenic an Official Media Partner.

“Uncertainty is becoming the caller reality. Major challenges, however, besides make large opportunities. Shipping has ever been capable to turn challenges into opportunities,” said Panagiotis Anastasopoulos, President of the Hellenic Ports Association and Chairman and CEO of the Port of Patras, successful effect to a question regarding the expected interaction of the caller geopolitical situation successful the Middle East connected Greek ports. At this juncture, helium added, technology and the capabilities of “smart” ports play a peculiarly important role.

He besides described cyberattacks arsenic a large situation and stressed that “by leveraging the country’s land geography, we indispensable show that Greek ports should run within a model of practice and service arsenic cardinal instruments of the nationalist information strategy.” He further highlighted the request for legislative betterment to alteration state-managed ports to proceed with investments, noting that astir 80 cardinal euros successful currency reserves crossed 8 ports presently remains idle.

According to Anastasopoulos, larboard employees should not beryllium concerned, arsenic technology and artificial quality are not intended to regenerate quality labour but to heighten the prime and speed of services.

Regarding the Port of Patras, whose maestro program was precocious approved by the Council of State, helium expressed strong restitution with the improvement and voiced anticipation that the projects and cardinal interventions included successful the program would beryllium implemented swiftly by the state.

On behalf of Piraeus Port Authority / COSCO Shipping, Strategy and Development Director Despoina Gkikaki underlined that the nonsubjective is clear: to marque the country’s largest larboard much resilient and sustainable done the use of precocious technology. To this end, a cardinal integer platform—the Port Capability Support Platform—has been developed to guarantee information exchange, visualisation and assets monitoring via KPI dashboards. For information and surveillance of the extended larboard facilities, drone-based patrol systems are deployed, transmitting HD video successful existent time, while smart cameras and “green” 5G stations person been installed astatine the rider port. In addition, works are underway for the enlargement of larboard services to alteration LNG bunkering, starting with cruise vessels.

“Smart ports” stay a work successful advancement successful Greece alternatively than a given, noted Angelos Vlachos, CEO of the Kavala Port Authority, pointing retired that astir determination ports are presently classified astatine the 2nd of 4 maturity levels. While important advancement has been made implicit the past 5 years, further steps are required, including addressing bureaucratic hurdles—particularly for nationalist ports—to heighten competitiveness and summation revenues.

Vlachos placed peculiar accent connected the request to let the commercialized use of the Nymphaea borderline crossing, warning that different the Port of Kavala risks losing its earthy Balkan hinterland. He further described the attraction of larboard infrastructure arsenic a captious issue, noting that ageing assets will entail substantial aboriginal costs, and highlighted the important shortage of marina berths successful bluish Greece.

Regarding the Thessaloniki Port Authority, Director of Information and Communication Technologies and Digital Transformation Spyros Nikolaou stressed that ports indispensable beryllium viewed not successful isolation but arsenic portion of a broader logistics network, underlining the value of obstruction and roadworthy connectivity to guarantee that investments successful the larboard present value.

“For us,” Nikolaou added, “it is captious that the cognition of the caller Pier 6 is accompanied by a corresponding qualitative upgrade. Our extremity is that, by the clip it becomes operational, the indispensable digital, operational and vigor infrastructure will beryllium afloat mature.”

In this direction, helium noted that investments person already been made successful the automation of the instrumentality terminal and respective different larboard functions. Full automation of the accepted port—the largest successful Greece—is besides expected successful the coming months. In addition, plans are underway to instrumentality a level that will service arsenic a integer power centre, integrating information from vessels, terminals, trucks and larboard infrastructure.

The 1st Blue Heritage Summit Thessaloniki was organised by Beyond CSR under the support and auspices of the Interior Ministry.