During three years, the Port of Gävle has participated in an EU-funded project named Efficient Flow. The project is now coming to an end. The Efficient Flow project has aimed to improve the flow of information for port actors during a ship call. The project is nearing completion, but for the Port of Gävle, work continues with the Port Activity App ™, which is the primary result of the project.
Port Activity App ™ is a digital solution for sharing information before and during a ship call to a port. The sharing of information through the app between port actors makes planning more efficient for everyone involved. For example, when it comes to operational planning, the app provides updated current and correct information about when the ship is expected to arrive, planned departure time and any delays, etc.
“There can be ten different partners involved in a port call and today they all call each other via phone to get in touch. There are tug boats, navigators, port authority, people responsible for loading- and unloading, container terminal administration and so on”, explains Linda Astner, Sustainability manager at Gävle Hamn, and also project leader for Port Activity App ™.
“There are often changes in a port´s operations due to time shifts, and also weather and wind has their effects. If everyone gets the right information about both planned and current times for arrivals the dockings can be smoother and the time that the ships spends waiting with the engines on can be minimized. This contributes to the calls being more efficient and to the turn-around times in the port being reduced. And that leads to less emissions.”
The more people that use the Port Activity App ™, the better the app will be. The hope is that the concept will be spread to other ports. Port Activity App ™ will continue to develop and already now there are new functions in the app such as e.g. nautical charts where the position of all ships on their way to Gävle can be seen, updated quay information and quay queuing system.
