The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) has carried out the first live operation of the SeaClear2.0 robotic system at its Harburg site.
SeaClear2.0 is a European Union-funded project under the ‘Restore our Oceans and Waters‘ mission. It aims to develop a fully autonomous system for locating and recovering marine debris, using drones, unmanned surface vessels, remotely operated underwater vehicles, and a robotic gripper arm.
Equipped with AI and high-resolution sensors, the system is designed to remove waste from hard-to-reach or hazardous areas with minimal human involvement.
The consortium includes research institutions, industry players, and civil society groups from nine European countries. German partners include the Hamburg Port Authority (host of the first live demo), Fraunhofer CML (developer of the SeaDragon USV), and the Technical University of Munich (developer of the Smart Grapple robotic arm).
This marks the next stage of development following the presentation of the original SeaClear system in 2022. New features in the updated version include a stronger robotic gripper for larger debris and an escort vessel to transport collected waste to shore.
READ: Port of Hamburg nears 8 million TEUs amid global challenges
According to the project team, over 90 per cent of the estimated 25 million tonnes of plastic in the ocean is located on the seabed. An additional 500,000 tonnes of macroplastics and 130,000 tonnes of microplastics are estimated to enter European waters annually.
Traditional clean-up methods remain costly and risky, making SeaClear2.0 a potentially safer and more efficient alternative.
The current test phase has also included environmental campaigns in collaboration with NABU, as well as a policy workshop involving public authorities, researchers, NGOs, and industry representatives. These sessions aim to explore political approaches to preventing marine waste.
READ: Port of Hamburg progresses fleet modernisation
Lennart Kinau, Head of Strategy and Communication at the HPA, said: “With SeaClear2.0, we are using cutting-edge technologies to tackle plastic waste in our waters head-on.
“Although we do not face the same waste recovery challenges as those in the oceans, SeaClear2.0 provides us with the opportunity to gain insights into how we can further improve the efficiency of our port infrastructure and processes.”
In February, the Port of Hamburg revealed that C. Steinweg’s Süd-West Terminal will incorporate a fully electric reachstacker from SANY MARINE into its fleet, marking a significant step forward in its decarbonisation strategy. This cutting-edge container reachstacker features a powerful 422-kilowatt-hour (kWh) lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) battery, underscoring the terminal’s commitment to sustainable and innovative port operations.
