NESC TEC highlights maritime safety at the Sea Forum

INESC TEC leads TEC4SEA and signs protocol with Ministry of Defence

Promoting international relations between public authorities, companies, universities and R&D centres working in the different domains of the Knowledge and Economy of the Sea – this is the primary goal of the Sea Forum, an initiative promoted since 2011 by the AEP – Associação Empresarial de Portugal (Portuguese Business Association) and the Associação Oceano XXI – Cluster do Conhecimento e da Economia do Mar (association that promotes the knowledge and economy of the Sea). At this strategic event, INESC TEC showcased sea-related technologies, such as the underwater robot MARES (which can study the seabed and the quality of the water) and the vessel ROAZII. Assunção Cristas, Minister for Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Country Planning, Miguel Poiares Maduro, Assistant Minister for Regional Development, and Manuel Pinto de Abreu, Secretary of State for the Sea, were all present at the opening of the 2014 edition of the Sea Forum.

At the event, which focuses on commercial activities and new business and scientific research areas related to the economy of the sea, INESC TEC’s representatives also promoted new business opportunities. According to Augustin Olivier, the INESC TEC member in charge of sea-related activities, participating in this initiative is extremely important because “the domain of science and technology for the sea is one of the most promising areas for the country’s development, as it can generate and multiply wealth and knowledge on the long-term, as long as it is adequately explored in a sustainable way.”

Open to the international community, the Sea Forum was also an opportunity for INESC TEC to present itself for the first time as the leader pf the TEC4SEA, a pioneer offshore lab in Europe that makes it possible to test technology for the sea in a real environment. The Centre for Technological Research of the University of Algarve (CINTAL) was the first institution to join the TEC4SEA. This unique infrastructure is a result of INESC TEC’s strong investment in the economy of the sea over the last years. The infrastructure has already been acknowledged by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and integrated in the national roadmap for research infrastructures which are strategic for the country. A result of that investment in the sea is also the protocol that INESC TEC signed with the Portuguese Ministry of Defence, on 28 May, also during the Sea Forum. The main goal with this protocol is to promote and facilitate the collaboration between both parties for multidisciplinary Research and Development in the Sea and its associated economy. 

Unmanned systems to improve maritime safety

Other than being represented at the technology exhibition, INESC TEC was also in charge of organising two workshops. For the first, the European Unmanned Maritime Systems Workshop, which focused on Maritime Safety, INESC TEC joined the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Portuguese Ministry of Defence to bring for the first time to Portugal an initiative where the goal is to present technology and other research results, with civil and military applications, developed as part of the EDA’s programme for Unmanned Maritime Systems, or other European initiatives.

The unmanned systems of the future, the growing autonomy of unmanned vehicles and the safety rules and regulations associated with this type of technology in Porto were just some of the themes discussed in this third edition of the initiative. Targeting researchers and end-users, this workshop is a privileged forum to discuss ideas, identify trends and paradigms, and to create business opportunities and partnerships, namely as part of the Horizon 2020 Programme.  

Various major figures from the Sea sector attended this workshop, including Julio Dolado (Authority of the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness – CDTI), Leendert Bal (Director of Operations at the European Maritime Safety Agency – EMSA) and José Cordeiro (President of the Portuguese Association for Aeronautics, Space and Defence).

Reducing crime in European borders

The second workshop organised by INESC TEC was dedicated to project SUNNY – Smart UNattended airborne sensor Network for detection of vessels used for cross border crime and irregular entrY. The initiative took place during the second day of the European Unmanned Maritime Systems Workshop, in a session about European projects in the area.

In this project, INESC TEC is one of 18 partners, which include the Portuguese Ministry of Defence, through the Naval Research Centre of the Portuguese Navy, with whom INESC TEC has a track record of joint projects in the safety area. Co-financed by the European Commission, project SUNNY aims at improving the efficiency of surveillance activities in maritime borders.

The main goal of the workshop, which was attended by representatives of some of the partners, was to discuss the operational needs of unmanned aerial vehicles in safety operations near borders and maritime spaces.

Project SUNNY will span 42 months and will contribute to the goals of the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR). As part of the European project, partners will develop interoperable and low-cost techniques, in particular to detect and follow small vessels used by migrants and drug traffickers, a problem that is exacerbated by the scale and remoteness of some of the border areas (on land and over sea) presents a complex challenge for national authorities.

Job opportunities at NATO

Another highlight of the Sea Forum was the NATO Seminar, organised by the Directorate-General for Armament and Defence Infrastructures (Portuguese Ministry of Defence), and supported by INESC TEC. Divulging job opportunities with the NATO Support Agency (NSPA) was the main goal of this seminar, for which 150 people and 75 companies registered. There was a total of 13 posts available in various areas, from engineering to the power sector.

At the seminar, INESC TEC also showed companies how they can supply their products to the NATO Support Agency, and promoted business areas which are currently underexplored. The seminar was supported by INESC TEC, Oceano XXI, the AEP, the Portugal-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (CCILL) and the Agência para o Investimento e Comércio Externo de Portugal (AICEP, Business Development Agency).