Article

Finnish-Singaporean Maritime Innovation camp explored new ideas from the contrast between pilotage operations of both countries


published on 20 January 2023 140 -

 

Text and pictures by University of Turku

In December 2022, a week-long innovation camp was organized in Turku Finland, in which 16 students from the University of Turku, Novia University of Applied Sciences and five different universities in Singapore participated. Pilotage operators Finnpilot from Finland and PSA Marine from Singapore acted as industry partners. They set the student teams a challenge of developing the pilotage operations in terms of communication and situational awareness in the port area. Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku organized the camp in cooperation with the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI), with whom the camp was organized for the third time - now for the first time in Finland.

The operational environment of shipping and pilotage in Finland and Singapore are almost opposite extremes. In Finland, sea traffic is distributed between large number of ports, which many have comparatively long, winding and narrow fairways. In addition, winter conditions bring additional challenges. Pilotage missions in Singapore have shorter distances, but due to the multiply higher scale and volumes of shipping, pilots and traffic control play a critical role in terms of the efficiency and safety of maritime transport.

Both Finland and Singapore are strongly involved in the development of digital and autonomous systems to make shipping more efficient. In Finland, Finnpilot was a key participant in the Sea4Value Fairway project coordinated by Dimecc Ltd, where the prerequisites for the implementation of remote pilotage were studied. The University of Turku participated in the project, and it was decided to take pilotage as the theme for the innovation camp together with SMI. The port area is a complex operating environment, and there is a global need to solve the related detailed problems in order to raise the level of automation for shipping.

 

At this camp, in addition to pilot’s problem introductions from both countries, the students got to know about weather information, tug operations and the shipping company's point of view, and visited Novia's maritime simulators and Viking Line ships, says development manager Jouni Saarni from the Turku School of Economics.
At this camp, in addition to pilot’s problem introductions from both countries, the students got to know about weather information, tug operations and the shipping company's point of view, and visited Novia's maritime simulators and Viking Line ships, says development manager Jouni Saarni from the Turku School of Economics.
At this camp, in addition to pilot’s problem introductions from both countries, the students got to know about weather information, tug operations and the shipping company's point of view, and visited Novia's maritime simulators and Viking Line ships, says development manager Jouni Saarni from the Turku School of Economics.
At this camp, in addition to pilot’s problem introductions from both countries, the students got to know about weather information, tug operations and the shipping company's point of view, and visited Novia's maritime simulators and Viking Line ships, says development manager Jouni Saarni from the Turku School of Economics.

At the innovation camp, a rapid innovation sprint is carried out, which is based on teamwork, close interaction with experts, visits and a facilitated ideation process.

The camp ended on 16th of December, when the student teams presented to an audience of shipping and maritime technology professionals. In addition, an expert panel was assembled from representatives of the public, who evaluated and gave feedback on the feasibility of each team's idea. The panel members were Tan Cheng Pen (Singapore Maritime Institute), Pekka Stenholm (University of Turku), Sanna Sonninen (Finnpilot Pilotage Ltd), Jimmy Koh (PSA Marine), Jussi Vaahtikari (ESL Shipping) and Riku Mäkelä (Business Finland). All presentations identified elements that could be taken into account in the future development of pilotage.

Turku School of Economics has implemented similar innovation camps since 2015. UTU and SMI renewed their cooperation agreement in 2021.

Join the conversation...

Login or register to write comments and join the discussion!
René Hartung Lotsenbrüderschaft NOK II Kiel / Lübeck / Flensburg, Germany
on 21 January 2023, 14:23 UTC

Never a bad idea to look beyond one‘s nose.
Sounds like an interesting workshop
0

Read more...

Article Concept of Reskilling for Automation Collaboration in Maritime Piloting

published on 22 August 2022

Advanced automation has been highlighted as contributory to several accidents involving modern bridge support systems and automation aiding maritime pilots for maneuvering and navigation. This paper argues for reskilling for automation collaboration.

1

Video OMC International DUKC® - Port of Melbourne

published on 14 October 2019

Footage of deep tanker Felicity navigating through the treacherous waters of the Port Philip Heads channel entrance.

0

Video AIMPA’s Webinar on “Reconceptualising Indian Maritime Pilotage on 24th Oct 2020

published on 28 January 2021

The need to hold such a webinar was felt from the interaction over several months of AIMPA members through its President, Capt. Gajanan Karanjikar, with Capt Simon Meyjes and Capt.Ravi Nijjer - both instrumental in the thorough upgrade of pilotage operations Safety management systems in parts of Australia. From these interactions, AIMPA has come to the firm conclusion that a thorough upgrade of maritime pilotage management systems in India is necessary. Holding a webinar would be a good...

0

Video Maritime Training: Man Overboard! Training Video

published on 4 July 2020

Visit https://www.maritimetraining.com to purchase the full-length version. Produced by Maritime Training Services.

0

Article Study: Managing the Attributes of Pilot Errors in the Process of Redevelopment of Marine Pilot Reliability Index MPRI)

published on 28 June 2022

Managing the Attributes of Pilot Errors in the Process of Redevelopment of Marine Pilot Reliability Index MPRI): A Systematic Literature Review

0

Video 16m Pilot Boat - Stainsby

published on 20 February 2021

Stainsby is a 16m GRP Pilot Boat designed by Camarc and built by Holyhead Marine.

1

Video Pilot Vessel COMETA/ Change Pilots Maneuver

published on 28 October 2021

Vehicles Carrier Ship "TOSCA"/ Change Pilots Maneuver #VehiclesCarrierShip #CarCarrierShip #RoRoShip #vehiclescarrier #ZonaComun #RioDeLaPlata #Argentina.- #WalleniusWilhelmsen This video of the Vehicles Carrier Ship "TOSCA", was filmed on board the same Vessel, when the Rio Paraná Pilots embarked on board, coming from the Pilot Vessel "COMETA". The last part of the video was filmed on board the Pilot Vessel "COMETA" and shows the Embarking Maneuver of the Rio de la Plata Pilot and the...

0

Video Ensuring Safety for Maritime Pilots: Addressing the Real Risks | SEA VIEWS - PODCAST

published on 1 July 2025

In this eye-opening episode of Sea Views, host Julia Gosling speaks with Captain Andrew Moll (Chief Inspector, UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch), Ari Palmers (Senior Maritime Pilot, Netherlands), and Adam Parnell (Director, CHIRP Maritime) to confront the serious dangers faced by maritime pilots — especially during pilot transfers, where fatality rates remain alarmingly high.

0

Opinion The Secret Life of Pilots

by Allen Garfinkle - published on 8 March 2022

The article was written by Allen Garfinkle, Executive Director – Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun

0

Article Compulsory pilotage in force to and from Shenzhen's Yantian terminal

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 22 January 2020

Compulsory pilotage will now be required for dry cargo and passenger vessels over 3,000 gross tonnes and tankers of 1,000 gross tonnes transiting eastern Hong Kong waters to and from the area of Yantian Container Terminals and Dapeng LNG Terminals, according to a Hong Kong Government Ordinance.

0