Greener port calls on the horizon: NWO grants 4 million euro project

Ships waiting offshore are a familiar sight for those who have visited the beaches near Rotterdam or The Hague. "We call this phenomenon ‘rush and wait,’" explains Frederik Schulte, assistant professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. “Ships burn enormous amounts of fuel to reach their destination as quickly as possible, only to then wait for permission to enter the port. This practice contributes to global emissions equivalent to the annual CO2 output of the entire Netherlands.”

One way PortCall.Zero aims to eliminate this inefficiency is by adopting a ‘just-in-time’ strategy, ensuring ships arrive precisely when they can be serviced. “This requires better collaboration between all parties,” says Frederik. "Think of pilots, tugboat crews, traffic controllers, port authorities, terminal operators, and many others. At present, data sharing between these stakeholders is not always optimal."

Federated AI for efficient port operations

To improve this collaboration, PortCall.Zero plans to implement a federated AI approach. Frederik elaborates: “This is a technology where multiple systems work together to train AI models without sharing their data centrally. The model is improved locally, enhancing both privacy and efficiency.” He also aims to design a virtual queue system for ships, using insights from this technology to reduce real-world waiting times.