The Port of Algeciras Authority (APBA) has awarded the $2.04 million (€1.7 million) development of its Port Risk Optimized Advanced System (PROAS) to a joint venture comprising Oritia & Boras, Ayesa Advanced Technologies and the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
In a statement, the APBA said its aim is to develop a predictive safety and efficiency tool for port operations based on forecasts from their physical surroundings, ship call schedules and operational predictions.
The successful bidders will embark on the development of a predictive model – from a probabilistic technique and artificial intelligence point of view – that will be fed in-house data by APBA, as well as data provided by field campaigns.
The completed Advanced Forecasting System will be able to streamline the decision-making processes of all the main agents’ who are involved in loading-and-unloading and ship-service operations.
PROAS is set to optimize the performance of all the vessels that use the Strait of Gibraltar’s shipping lanes and, especially, those that call at the Port of Algeciras – the hub that connects more than 200 ports worldwide.
In November 2020 APBA announced that a six-week trial of PortXchange had resulted in improvements of idle time and traffic efficiency, after collaborating with A.P. Moller-Maersk and APM Terminals.
