The Atlantic Smart Ports Blue Acceleration Network aims to lay the foundations for building a platform of acceleration services, transforming EU Atlantic Ports into Blue Economy Hubs, diversifying their business models and revenue sources.

By becoming the main ecosystem for new business development in the Blue Economy domains, EU Atlantic Ports have here an opportunity to diversify their revenue sources and work on the development of a sustainable Ocean Economy.

The main objectives of the project include attracting 450 startups to an acceleration programme; selecting 30 startups that will be able to develop pilots in 30 Atlantic Ports; attracting €6 million of private investment for the selected startups; mobilising €4.5 billion of potential private investment; and reducing 100,000 tonnes of CO2 in the operations of 30 Ports.

As a project partner, Magellan will be responsible for the monitoring, administrative and financial management of the entire project, in close coordination with the project coordinator, Beta-i.

STEERER (Structuring Towards Zero Emission Waterborne Transport) will coordinate the establishment and communication of a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and an Implementation Plan towards zero-emission waterborne transport, in cooperation with all key stakeholders needed to facilitate the transformation to clean waterborne transport.

In the definition of STEERER, as well as cutting green house gas emissions, all harmful environmental emissions, water pollution and noise emissions have to be eliminated. STEERER’s mission is to bring the various initiatives and sectors’ stakeholders together to join forces for a combined effort with the maximum impact for the climate, people’s health and Europe’s economy. STEERER is coordinated by the Waterborne Technology Platform, counting with participation of a total of seven partners from six EU countries.

In sum, STEERER aims to:

• Jointly set emission targets towards 2050 (including targets for 2025 and 2030);
• Develop a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda to be able to reach these targets in time;
• Develop an Implementation Plan to reach the targets in due course, while staying competitive and offering a valid business case;
• Develop and implement a communication campaign, aimed at broader awareness of the waterborne transport sector and its commitment towards zero-emission transport.

Ro-ro ships are an important component of the global transportation system and one of the most successful types of vessels today. However, a significant number of fire incidents on ro-ro ships in recent years and lacking signs of such diminishing call for improved fire protection. Based on a proposal from the European Commission, the International Maritime Organisation therefore adopted a new agenda item to the Maritime Safety Committee in November 2016, called “Fire Safety of Ro-ro Passenger Ships” (MSC 97/19/3), and studies are and have since then been carried out to analyse critical aspects in previous ro-ro passenger ship fires.

There is also a need to address the challenges ahead, including the ongoing cargo transformation involving alternative fuel vehicles. Moreover, similar fire safety challenges apply to all types of ro-ro ships (not only passenger ships), including vehicle carriers and general ro-ro cargo ships. Hence, there is a need to update the fire protection of ro-ro ships from a wide and long-term perspective. There are significant challenges to address but there is also great potential in using new and advancing technologies and procedures. The innovative solutions need to be in balance with effects on the environment, cost and crew operations, in order to be considered for regulatory amendments. Then the fire safety of ro-ro ships can be robustly enhanced, without support from external intervention.

LASH FIRE brings together the relevant expertise to cover the challenge of developing and demonstrating new procedures and technical innovations for maritime application. The ambition of the project flows is in line with that of the IMO and other regulatory bodies to greatly enhance the safety of ro-ro ships. Besides, LASH FIRE gives European industry knowledge to address the technical challenges of these updated rules, enhancing shipyards, system suppliers and further industries to develop and build safer and more competitive ships for sustainable transport.

The project has a holistic approach to the problem and will investigate the following:

• Effective Manual Operations: More effective fire managing operations in all stages of a fire, including risk-based screening and management of cargo, more efficient fire patrols and first response as well as effective firefighting.
• Inherently Safe Design: Improved design for critical operations in case of fire, reducing the potential for human error, accelerating time sensitive tasks and providing more comprehensive and effective decision support.
• Ignition Prevention: Significant reduction of the most probable ignition sources and of ignitable deck materials on ro-ro deck, as well as provision for automatic screening and support for risk-based loading.
• Detection: Quicker, more reliable and more robust technical means for fire detection, confirmation, localization and assessment on all types of ro-ro decks.
• Extinguishment: Quick extinguishment regardless of deck, system type or size/existence of crew.
• Containment: Elimination of significant containment weaknesses, considering smoke, fire & heat integrity.

LASH Fire has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 814975. The project is coordinated by RISE, and the consortium consists of 27 research and industry partners. Magellan will contribute directly for WP3 –Cooperation and Communication, WP6 – Effective Manual Operations and WP8 – Extinguishment.

TrainMos II focused on the challenges related with the development of the Motorways of the Sea, Maritime transport and multimodal EU transport system, with particular emphasis on the qualification and training of those working within the sector. One of the main goals of the project was to create a certified training programme, based on different modules, which included a European Master, a Postgraduate Course and a Continuous Training Professional Course. As a beneficiary of TrainMos II, Magellan developed, promoted and implemented different continued training courses: Intermodality and Maritime Transport Management, Sustainability and Logistics.

The goal of the IBCVET Project – IBCVET -International Benchmarking on CVET – 4 European Regions, was to particularly focus on the topics of CVET (Continuing Vocational Education and Training), pinpointed by the Bruges Communiqué and the Eurydice report on adult training. The project focused on the improvement of public policy, at a European, national and sectorial scale, contributing for the creation of training for adults’ opportunities, employees or unemployed, namely those with lower levels of qualification. The Blue Economy – for its special importance in the partnering countries – has been chosen as the scope of application of the Project.

Magellan contributed to IBCVET as a specialist in the establishment of effective partnerships and networking at EU level. Magellan played a leading role contributing to the overall approach to dissemination; identified CVET stakeholders at local, national and international level; disseminated the Project in a continuous way through different channels; contributed to Project reports with information about the dissemination activities; participated in the international forum media and organized communication activities.

The Sea Traffic Management Validation Project is a Motorways of the Sea project that aims to validate the Sea Traffic Management (STM) concept and pave the way for smooth deployment of new collaborative services previously unknown to sea transport but existing for many years in other transport sectors. It envisages test beds in Northern Europe and Mediterranean Sea, engaging 300 vessels, 10 ports of different sizes and 3 shore centres.

The STM Validation Project encompasses 39 partners (private, public and academic) from 13 countries and with a total budget of 42 million Euro. STM will overcome many of the challenges of communication and information sharing between stakeholders in the maritime transport industry and create significant added value to, in particular, shipand cargo-owners as well as ports. The preceding MONALISA projects have brought advancements in technology and digital innovation to the maritime sector, a base for a sustainable shipping industry, reducing the environmental impact while improving safety and efficiency.

Magellan takes part in STM project in order to analyse the need for competence and training of operational staff, both on board as well as shore-based systems and tools for providing professional and operational skills to staff involved in all types of traffic scenarios.

The B.L.U.E. project aimed to improve education and training systems, to promote internationalization and mobility of people/skills in the area of the blue economy. The project evaluated three main priorities: to contribute to the development of a European Area of Competences and Qualifications; to create a knowledge triangle and to enhance the profile of the teaching profession. The action implied the establishment of a strategic partnership for the development, transfer and implementation of innovative practices and joint initiatives, as well as the exchange of experiences at the European level. The B.L.U.E. project included 8 partners (private, public and academic) from 5 different countries.

Magellan participated in the development of dissemination activities and identification of the Portuguese situation.