Transition & transformation: environmental & operational sustainability

The environmental challenges imposed by climate change and a higher awareness on global warming have permeated the maritime supply chain industry, boosting regulatory measures across the entire scope of actors. That is why the fourth day of TOC Connect #Americas focused on the challenges of green transition and transforming port operations, continuing in line with the third day presentations. 

Green transition & sustainability

Steve Cameron, Managing Director, Cameron Maritime Resources, was moderator for the initial panel of the last day of TOC Connect #Americas, which put the spotlight on green transition and sustainability of port and logistics operations. Laura Chiuminatto, Deputy Manager of Sustainability, Terminal Pacífico Sur Valparaíso, was first up on the agenda, presenting the Chilean port’s sustainability policies in the presentation titled “Sustainability: the way we want to do business,” by adopting strategies to adapt to the new “VUCA” scenario: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity, “we need to adopt an integrated way to do business despite these conditions,” the executive said, adding that “sustainability must be the way we do, plan and act our business. Develop the business in a sustainable way. We have a 5-pillar strategy based on 4 values to align efforts, and the addition of purpose & pillars + market requests & standards define a roadmap for sustainability. Among the specific actions for sustainability have implemented is diversity, with 17% workforce women (compared to 2% in the overall maritime industry); long-term social relationships with stakeholders; and electrical energy from sources 100% renewable.”

Next up on the agenda was Alexis Rodríguez, Environmental Protection Specialist, Panama Canal presenting “How supply chain actors can encourage green transition.” When talking on climate change challenges, Rodriguez emphasized “we must work together to achieve these goals yet keeping in mind that within the industry the different areas have different stakeholders,” said the Panama Canal executive. The Panama Canal Sustainability Vision considers decarbonization by 2050 and carbon neutral operations by 2030. “We are working on how to face this transformation for the entire supply chain,” along with a green route strategy: “operations to enhance environmental management in the operations of the Panama Canal; clients to contribute to global efforts to reduce emissions of GHG in the maritime industry through recognition and promotion of best practices executed by its clients; projects; and watershed. (…) We need to work together with the stakeholders, understand what we are doing well and what we need to do better. Green transition is not something we can do alone and working with international organizations is also key.”

The third presentation of the panel was led by Erick Alarcón, Senior Manager Vessels Operations, ONE. “Shipping decarbonization: challenge and opportunities for Latin America.” The Japanese-owned shipping line stands out for its decarbonization actions, such as being one of the six private founding members of MPA-led Maritime Decarbonization Center with a total of US$120 million funds; the completion of two trials of biofuels in 2021; broadening the strategic partner horizon; and a recently signed MOU with PSA in July 2021 to enhance sustainability and reduce maritime environmental footprint.

Antonio Domínguez, Director Caribbean Maersk, presented the Danish company’s innovative efforts for decarbonization with the 8 methanol-fueled vessels that are to come into operation in 2024 and the support to The Ocean Cleanup initiative, the start-up which invented a system to collect the floating plastic island in the Pacific. “We have only one planet and we all need to work together to clean it up and care for it. The time to act is now,” emphasized the executive.

Transforming port operations

Moderator Silvia Bermúdez Cerqueiro, Manager LATAM Transportation & Logistics, Ausenco, led the speakers through the Transforming port operations panel starting with “Automation in brownfield terminal, how to get there?,” by Lyes Chebrek, Port Expert, Port DNA, explained the scope of container terminal automation, focusing on the primary areas for container terminal automation: ship-to-shore; yard stacking crane and horizontal transport equipment; and the secondary areas: port gate automation; automated reefer monitoring; crane & rail OCR; and automated mooring. “The deployment of automation should be driven by the need to solve issues and eliminate operational pain points that the terminal faces on a regular basis,” the speaker pointed out.

“Autonomous mobility ports,” presented by Aldo Ferrufino, Chief Operating Officer, AI Drivers, talked about autonomous operations in ports and enabled digital twins, which allow for data collection. “The Immersive Autonomous Simulation Digital Twin is a real-world reflective 3D environment with high accuracy that allows for real-time visualization and APIs for module, component and system integration. This system includes autonomous trucks, cranes, traffic lights, smart gates and any other environment features with automated systems to simulate reflective data processing for business intelligence,” detailed the executive. 

Up next was Alejandro García, Digital Solutions Sales Manager, Kalmar continued with his presentation “Connectivity as a key enabler to achieve sustainability, safety and productivity targets,” presenting on the challenge of data and how to optimize its use. “A lot of data has been collected and the challenge is to know how and when to use it. That is why we have created Kalmar Insight, a tangible value for the customer out of the data collected improving performance efficiency. This tool helps with driver ID and access management, maintenance, API connectivity and checklist for equipment maintenance,” said García, explaining in detail how the Kalmar Insight tool works and the benefits for customers who implement it.

“Transforming Terminal Operations: Leveraging AI & Optimization,” was presented Matthew Wittemeier, Senior Manager International Marketing & Customer Relations, Inform GmBH. “We are drowning in data. We are producing data at a rate and volume that is unprecedented. With so much data, we should take it and use it as the ‘oil’ that lubricates operations, and data management should be at the foundation of what we do and how we do it,” he noted. IT should be considered part of the infrastructure and optimization tools should be part of it, highlighting how Inform GmBH’s Maritime Terminal Add-on Optimization models serve 7 different areas: vehicle, crane, yard, truck, trainload, rail, machine, and time slot. 

The TOC Connect #Virtual conference will continue Tuesday, November 2. For online viewing of the exclusive content, write to [email protected].

By MundoMaritimo