Last week IAPH participated in a seminar hosted by the IMO on the ‘implications, challenges and opportunities of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) operations for ports and public authorities’. Participants first heard from a panel discussing the different considerations of autonomous ship operations in port, including cargo handling, mooring and remote operations. Patrick Verhoeven then chaired a panel focused on port perspectives. This included remote presentations by, and a discussion with, Erwin Verstraelen, vice-president innovation at Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Robert-Louis Cool, CEO of SEAFAR, and Shiori Kondo, deputy director, Ports and Harbours Bureau, Japan. A recording of the seminar and the presentation slides can be accessed here.
Patrick Verhoeven at the MASS panel last week, with Julian Abril, head of the Facilitation Section at IMO
