The United Kingdom’s Intelligent Transport Society’s Maritime Interest Group has responded to the Department for Transport’s Maritime 2050 consultation by promoting the technological solutions that exist to help people and goods move by sea.
The group backed the Government’s strategy to “enhance the UK’s areas of strength as a great maritime nation by meeting the challenges of the long term future and exploiting the opportunities that arise,” saying that with 90 per cent of goods arriving or departing the UK by sea, it is essential that the Maritime industry remains the main enabler and facilitator for trade.
Among the responses to the consultation, ITS (UK)’s maritime experts led by Group Chairman Gary Umpleby of Hogia Transport Systems (pictured) wrote, “Through the deployment of highly integrated, multi-modal and inter-modal (ship, port, rail, HGV), freight management systems, the UK could become a preferred partner for the carriage and distribution of goods world-wide (although the final terms & conditions of Brexit will influence this opportunity). The development and deployment in the UK of advanced real-time passenger information and service deviation and disruption systems in the bus-based public transport sector, if applied to the same extent in the maritime sector, could 6 increase the attractiveness of waterborne transport, making it a much more viable component of a multi-modal transport network than it has been in the past. The key role that the UK has played in the development of autonomous vehicles, and the depth and breadth of technology experienced thereby gained, could be transferred to the maritime sector to contribute towards the development of autonomous ships.”
To read more, click here.
Source: ITS UK
