The new Maritime Traffic Notification Service NEMO has won the Global Service Design Award 2023 in the Professional Commercial category. The Service Design Award annually highlights projects that represent the global benchmark for a world-class service design.
This year's finalists comprised of 19 service design projects from around the world. Winning in its category, Maritime Traffic Notification Service NEMO's service design is a collaborative effort between Fintraffic’s Vessel Traffic Service and Siili Solutions.
NEMO is a comprehensive maritime transport and port logistics development project where the aim is to innovatively seek new digital solutions for the development of Finnish maritime logistics.
"Functioning, safe, and sustainable shipping is vital for Finland, as our foreign trade largely relies on maritime logistics. NEMO is a prime example of our new innovative development projects here in Finland, where by utilising digitalisation and service design we are creating a completely new service package that will improve the competitiveness of Finnish shipping, facilitate the introduction of intelligent maritime transport, and promote the development of transport ecosystems at both national and international levels. This award is a clear indication that we are on the right track with our development work," remarks Rami Metsäpelto, CEO of Fintraffic’s Vessel Traffic Service.
"NEMO is an extensive and ambitious maritime transport and port logistics project where we strive to both improve the flow of data and optimise the operations and emissions of the entire logistics chain. These aspects will help maritime operators and ports to develop their operations into an even more efficient direction with the help of real-time vessel and port data," explains Olli Soininen, Project Manager at Fintraffic’s Vessel Traffic Service.
The main objective of NEMO is to create uniform methods for submitting the notifications required in the vessel report from the notifier to the authorities and to ensure that the information can be submitted in the same way to the national maritime information management systems of all EU member states. Furthermore, Maritime Traffic Notification Service NEMO's added value services will support the development and introduction of optimisation services for different kinds of port calls.
Collaborative creation with stakeholders
A vast number of actors in the sector have participated in the planning of Maritime Traffic Notification Service NEMO. Dozens of maritime operators, such as shipping companies, ship brokers, forwarding agencies, shippers, transport companies, ports, port operators, and authorities are involved in the development of the service, helping ensure that the service will be based on a deep understanding of the client and designed to be as client-oriented as possible.
"Together with key operators in the maritime sector, we are creating a long-lasting service. In addition to the present moment, the needs of the future will be taken into account as well, all the way from the roles of shipping and logistics to the various processes involved. From the beginning, the focus has been on understanding the client, so I would like to extend my thanks to this large group of maritime operators who have contributed to the design of the new Maritime Traffic Notification Service NEMO," explains Miikka Kälvinmäki, Business Designer of Fintraffic’s Vessel Traffic Service.
NEMO's vision concept represents the future image of the new operational roles and processes in the maritime and logistics sector as well as the utilisation of public and private sector data in providing value-adding services.
"We have used design thinking to simplify the complex system, visual design to increase the impact of concept materials, and co-creation to help make people commit to the change. Modelling and describing the use of data in relation to the activities of organisations and people in the maritime core processes have also been an integral part of building the concept. It has been inspiring to see how the stakeholders involved in the project have been committed to working together from the very beginning," continues Sanna Vainionpää, Head of Maritime at Siili Maritime and Head of Vision Concept for the Nemo project.
Established in 2004, the Service Design Network (SDN) is a leading non-profit institution and driver for global growth, development and innovation in service design. The Service Design Award, which has been awarded annually by the Service Design Network since 2015, is the first international service design award that recognises the achievements of service design companies and communities in both the public and private sectors. The winner of the award was announced on 5 October 2023 at the Service Design Global Conference in Berlin.
Changes in EU legislation underlying the new Maritime Traffic Notification Service. Maritime Traffic Notification Service NEMO is Finland's response to EU Regulation 2019/1239, the main objective of which is to create uniform methods for submitting the notifications required in the vessel report from the notifier to the authorities and to ensure that the same information can be submitted in the same way to all national maritime information management systems in the EU member states. In Finland, this means harmonising the notifications submitted by 800,000 ships per year. In addition to the statutory service, added value services will be created to support the development and introduction of optimisation services for different kinds of port calls. The service is being built in Finland by Fintraffic’s Vessel Traffic Service and its partner companies, and it will be used by all ships arriving at Finnish ports from August 2024 onwards.
