With the official kick-off of the research project iPORTUS, Hamburg Port Authority, together with the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services and Kongsberg Maritime Germany GmbH, marks a significant milestone on the path towards the digitalization and automation of port operations.
The aim of the project is the safe integration of semi-autonomous and remotely monitored, low-emission waterborne vehicles into complex port environments. iPORTUS is funded with approximately EUR 1.7 million by the German Federal Ministry for Transport under the IHATEC II funding program.
The project focuses on ensuring nautical safety and cyber security, developing a high degree of autonomy for the deployed systems, and integrating them into a remote operations center.
In addition, the project seeks to establish regulatory foundations for approval procedures and economic decision-making, thereby enabling the future routine operation of autonomous watercraft in German ports.
The project is supported by a number of associated partners, including the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, the Free and Hanseatic City of Bremen, represented by bremenports and Niedersachsen Ports, as well as HafenCity University Hamburg.
An initial key milestone has already been defined: on 26 January 2026, the first consortium and working meeting will take place at Fraunhofer CML, where the project partners will set the central technical and organizational course for the coming months.
Benjamin Blanck, Project Manager in the Research & Development department at HPA, stated that with iPORTUS, a milestone has been set for the safe integration of semi-autonomous systems into port operations.
Furthermore, the implementation of iPORTUS strengthens trust in maritime autonomy, equiped with ASVs to withstand cyberattacks, to validate them in port operations, and translate the results into approvable operating models a tangible contribution to digitalization and decarbonization.
