STM put to the test

Swedish Maritime Administration

The Swedish Maritime Administration-led Sea Traffic Management (STM) Validation project has underwent its first operational test.

The run-through started with the Adveto Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) system doing a look-up of the Kongsberg Norcontrol Shore Centre services in the service registry. The trailed ship then shared the voyage plan, which was instantly available in the shore centre for checking, monitoring, confirmation, new suggestions, etc. The underlying STM and Maritime Cloud infrastructure managed a secure and trusted transmission directly between authenticated actors.

The STM test beds will include 300 ships, 13 ports, and at least five shore centres. The first STM-compatible shore centre has been installed at the Tarifa Vessel Traffic Services in Spain.

The chief goal of the project is to provide interoperability between different systems through a underlying infrastructure that makes it possible for standardised information exchange that connects actors at the first attempt and without any discussion on formats, interfaces, or communication means. This, in turn, is believed to streamline maritime operations, making them safer at the same time.

"Connecting the ECDIS with real-time secure services from any STM-compatible service provider on shore can improve the decision-support for bridge officers. I have no doubt that STM also will decrease costs and improve economy for all involved parties. Furthermore, I believe that STM also can reduce accident rates, with studies pointing to a drop of over 60% in human-related accidents, and that's EUR 100 mln of savings," Kent Sylvén, Adveto's CEO, said.

Lene Vesterlund, VP Marketing and Sales at Kongsberg Norcontrol, added, "For us, STM is a chance to expand our business by delivering services that will increase the efficiency and safety of the maritime transport system worldwide. We can connect machine-to-machine, through standardized interfaces, with on-board systems from all manufacturers."

Read more about the Sea Traffic Management Validation project
in Baltic Transport Journal 1/16's article A concept for future shipping >>>