SENER and the Port of Seville have begun working on digitising the navigable waterway, which will allow the implementation of the European RIS Standard for an IT-based optimisation of navigation on the Guadalquivir.
The Seville Port Authority (APS) has awarded the engineering and technology group SENER the contract for the AIRIS-PS project (Advanced Implementation of RIS in the Port of Seville). This is an initial study phase for the full implementation of RIS (River Information Services) and includes the design and monitoring of the port system pilot models to be implemented.
The objective of this project, which has European assistance through the CEF ‘Connect Europe’ mechanism, is to complement the actions undertaken in the eRIO of the R&D&I Tecnoport 2025 project aimed at optimizing the management of logistics activities and harmonizing them with the practices applied in the European Union as a whole. As such, AIRIS-PS encompasses both an analysis of the actions undertaken in Tecnoport 2025 and the study and design of new measures to undertake a large-scale adaptation of the European RIS Standard along the whole Guadalquivir Eurovia, from Seville to Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Andalusia, Spain).
With the adoption of the RIS standard, the Port Authority expects to expand its knowledge of the navigable waterway and improve its management through the exchange of real-time data. In this respect, RIS envisages the advanced monitoring of parameters such as the height of the water surface, the currents and tides, and the water quality.
It will also provide greater information on river traffic (the characteristics of the ships and their cargos, it will detect possible obstacles to navigation, etc.) and will facilitate traffic management by optimizing the resources involved in navigation. All this will make it possible to have a more efficient coordination of port operations, as well as with the different actors that participate in them (logistics procedures, consignees, stevedores, etc.).
Specifically, SENER will undertake a study of the international context of RIS implementation; an analysis of the basic adoption of the RIS standard in the Port of Seville (with the measures previously approved in the framework of the Tecnoport 2025 project); a comparative study of current RIS implementation in the aforementioned port with respect to international standards and its implementation in other European ports and navigable waters; a detailed definition of the pilot projects; and support tasks for the Seville Port Authority during its implementation.
According to Xavier Pascual, SENER’s Director of Ports and Water, “This new project, related to the design and integration of port systems, represents a landmark for SENER, as it is the first to implement the RIS standards according to the recommendations of the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC), of which SENER is a member.”
SENER is part of the worldwide panel of experts responsible updating it through the new technologies now available.
For Manuel Gracia, Chairman of the Port Authority, “The application of new technologies to port management will promote the logistic competitiveness and the multimodality of the Port of Seville.
“From the APS, we want to offer an efficient and quality public service and to contribute added value to the business network through this innovation, so that it wins in competitiveness, especially in the field of logistics.”
Navigation through the Eurovía del Guadalquivir is marked by the system of tides, in such a way that ships navigate through the channel coinciding with the high tide.
Knowing the condition of the navigable channel with great accuracy will perfect the use of it and will increase the maximum operative depth of water of the ships according to the tide.