Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC) and tug shipping company Kotug Smit Towage will in future work closely together at the Port of Hamburg in order to coordinate preliminary planning for ship calls and departures, and the associated tug services. This step will further optimize the efficiency and quality of ship handling in the Port of Hamburg.
Kotug Smit Towage is the first port service provider that will have access to the Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center’s time-related and geographically extensive planning system. Gerald Hirt, Managing Director of HVCC, comments, “Our cooperation with Kotug Smit marks an important milestone in the continued development of HVCC’s partner portfolio. We believe the comprehensive network and data exchange within the port industry offers enormous potential for increased efficiency in the Port of Hamburg.”
The shipping company Kotug Smit, which operates a fleet of five high-performance tugs in Hamburg, will receive a dashboard solution from HVCC with access to all elevant traffic data, providing it with real-time information relating to changes in ship call planning and terminal handling. Environmental data such as wind, water levels and tide are also integrated and processed in the system. This direct communication channel will improve reaction times in the case of schedule changes as well as resource planning for operational tug deployment, particularly at peak traffic periods.
The data will allow Kotug Smit to better plan rest periods for the tug teams and send tugs directly from one assignment to the next. This will in turn lead to savings in bunker consumption as the fleet, the assignments and the routes can be more efficiently coordinated. The result: a reduction in CO2 emissions. Eva Beykirch, General Manager of Kotug Smit Towage in Germany, comments, “Kotug Smit Towage and HVCC have had a constructive exchange for some time now. We are particularly pleased to be joining forces on this pilot project. Progressive digitization is the way of the future, and with this comprehensive information platform, we expect
to see improvements in tug capacity utilization, as well as even more efficient route and operational planning on board the tugs.”
HVCC signed a cooperation agreement with the Rotterdam Port Authority just this past June to exchange data directly via an interface. The information pertains to planned and actual arrival and departure times for ships coming from or heading to either Hamburg or Rotterdam. “We’re open to all business partners along the maritime transport chain,” says Hirt. HVCC is currently in talks with a number of tug shipping companies, port service providers such as brokers, agents, and supply and disposal companies, as well as previous ports regarding potential cooperation.
