VTS Finland to boost smart maritime traffic with the eVäylä project
VTS Finland has started to build a new digital situational awareness and information exchange service for maritime traffic with the eVäylä development project. A more comprehensive situational picture will be developed in the project to meet the maritime industry’s needs due to increased automation. The project objective is to enable effective, real-time flow of data between vessels, ports and port operators in order to improve the safety, flow and efficiency of maritime traffic in the coming years, as well as creating a link between maritime transport and other modes of transport.
VTS Finland's operations are centred on the provision of vessel traffic management and control services in such a way as to ensure the safe and undisturbed operation of traffic on our sea lanes. This includes VTS Finland’s efforts to accelerate the development of automation and digitalisation in the maritime industry. With the eVäylä project, VTS Finland is now taking on an even clearer role as a provider of a maritime traffic information exchange platform, intelligent information services and a recognised maritime picture.
"Finland is actively involved in developing digitalisation and automation in the shipping industry through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and several EU forums, which aim to boost the competitiveness of shipping through various technological solutions. Through this involvement, the role that VTS Finland plays as a national producer of vessel traffic services and a confirmed maritime picture, as well as in ensuring the safety of maritime traffic, also calls for taking a stronger role in the provision of digital information services. To answer this call, we are now implementing the new eVäylä project, which is aimed at enabling unbiased, efficient and safe electronic exchange of information between various marine operators, while giving us an interface for the provision of information and situational awareness services. For example, the real-time recognised maritime picture and information from sensors support operators of remote control and automation functions, and the distribution service for the arrival and departure times of vessels supports port operators,” says Jouni Patrakka, Director, VTS & VTMIS systems and maritime traffic information services at VTS Finland.
Better information exchange for the digitalisation and automation of maritime traffic
New technological solutions for shipping, such as functions for the remote control of vessels and testing of autonomous ships, are examples of the opportunities that emerging technologies bring for securing the competitiveness of the maritime industry. New types of information exchange and information needs, which maritime machine learning and, ultimately, artificial intelligence will need to function, also call for new common practices for the flow and transmission of information.
“Digitalisation and various degrees of automation are strongly making their way into maritime traffic in Finland. The increase in the degree of automation of vessels is creating the need to be able to observe the environment more comprehensively. The starting point in the eVäylä project is the idea that digitalised and automated vessel traffic will need new tools for the provision of a continuous, real-time and predictive situational picture. The digital situational picture and the related tools will be made available through the information and situational awareness services developed in the eVäylä project,” says Olli Soininen, Project Manager for eVäylä.
eVäylä is a project for renewing and developing the exchange of information between VTS Finland and port operators, establishing a basis for the digital management of evolving vessel traffic, and implementing the information exchange interfaces between Vessel Traffic Service and shore-based pilotage for meeting the needs of shore-based pilotage.
“Through the eVäylä service, maritime traffic management produces digital information services on the use of fairways and a situational picture of the fairway area, and uses interfaces to distribute information to other user groups. The confirmed situational picture ready for distribution is compiled on the basis of vessel position and movement factors that have been verified and are more accurate than before; oncoming and intersecting traffic; the arrival and departure times of vessels, deviations related to the use of the fairway area and real-time information on traffic conditions, as well as a situational picture of navigation aids. In addition, eVäylä offers a low-threshold way of making the transition to new digital services to operators engaged in remote pilotage and the remote control of vessels. The main objective is to promote the quality, availability and timeliness of information used by various marine operators. This is a multi-annual project, but the first concrete steps will be taken in early 2021, when the distribution service for up-to-date arrival and departure time information for merchant ships will be published in the form of an eVäylä service. eVäylä will help us to significantly improve the level of Finland's confirmed maritime picture, with the aim of creating a safer, smoother and more efficient whole," says Olli Soininen.
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The eVäylä project is one of the key digitalisation projects of VTS Finland and its parent company Traffic Management Finland, which will further improve the real-time situational picture of the Finnish transport system and take it forward using the digital situational picture.
