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The European Union’s Horizon Europe programme continues to drive forward-looking research and innovation projects that address key challenges in transport, sustainability, and digital transformation. Among these initiatives, the MISSION project (January 2024 - June 2027) is focused on reducing vessel waiting times at ports by optimising port call processes. This will lead to greater operational efficiency, enhanced safety, and a significant reduction in port congestion, associated costs, and greenhouse gas emissions.

In order to achieve these objectives, MISSION leverages real-time data exchange, improved situational awareness, and enhanced coordination mechanisms among port stakeholders. This fosters a more synchronised and transparent port environment, where operations are aligned with actual readiness, minimising idle time and resource waste.

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Figure 1. MISSION’s Phases

Furthermore, MISSION supports the European ambition to develop smarter and more sustainable ports by aligning its solutions with existing EU frameworks and standards for maritime transport. The project also contributes to policy development and technological harmonisation across ports, paving the way for the replicability and scalability of its results in different regions. By strengthening collaboration between public and private actors, MISSION not only improves port performance but also accelerates Europe’s transition towards climate-neutral logistics chains.

An initiative of this nature requires a diverse consortium that brings together both those who play a role in solving the problem and those who suffer from its consequences—namely, the lack of communication, coordination, and standardized processes in the maritime-port ecosystem. MISSION addresses this challenge by involving a wide range of actors from academia, industry, and institutional domains, each contributing their specific expertise.

• Universities
  MISSION includes several leading academic institutions that bring advanced research capabilities and domain knowledge to the project:

  • University of Southern Denmark (SDU)

  • Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)

  • National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)

  • Stockholm University (SU)

• Research Institutes
  In addition to academic partners, major research organizations contribute with their technical know-how and applied innovation experience:

  • German Aerospace Center (DLR)

  • Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC)

  • VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT)

• Standardization Organizations
  Ensuring interoperability and harmonization across the sector is a key goal of MISSION, supported by leading bodies that drive standard development:

  • Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA)

  • TIC4.0 – Terminal Industry Committee 4.0

• Port Sector
  Port authorities and terminal operators participating in MISSION represent major nodes in the European maritime network, offering real-world testing environments and operational insight:

  • Port of Valencia

  • Port of Piraeus

  • Port of Genoa

  • Port of Klaipėda

  • Port of Trieste

  • Port of Antwerp-Bruges

• Maritime Sector
  The project also engages key players from the shipping industry, ensuring that the maritime perspective is fully integrated into solution design and deployment:

  • ERSHIP

  • DFDS

  • Finnlines

  • E&S Tankers

  • COSCO Shipping (Spain and Greece divisions)

• Digital Solution Providers
  A number of companies bring cutting-edge technologies and digital innovation to the table, helping to design and implement advanced tools for optimization and coordination:

  • Awake

  • Blue Visby

  • Fintraffic

  • NAPA

  • Royal Dirkzwager

Together, these partners form a comprehensive and multidisciplinary consortium, capable of tackling the diverse challenges of improving port call efficiency and coordination across Europe.

This project offers multiple opportunities for the development of TIC4.0 as an Association — from increasing visibility across various areas of the maritime-port sector to advancing and expanding the standards that will emerge from the different tasks assigned to TIC4.0 within the project.

Our main contributions will focus on processes related to the Carrier Visit, thereby strengthening links with other organizations such as DCSA and ISO, both of which play key roles in this project. Alignment at the interface between vessel, port, and terminal is highly demanded across the sector and represents one of the main challenges for improving efficiency and reducing emissions.

The primary contributions of TIC4.0 to this project are concentrated in WP1: Process and Technical Interface Standards, which is led by TIC4.0. Indirectly, the results of this WP will also provide significant inputs to other work packages, such as WP2 and WP4, which requires a high level of collaboration and coordination.

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WP1 is composed of four tasks, of which Task 1.1 and Task 1.2 are already completed, while Task 1.3 and Task 1.4 are still ongoing. Although TIC4.0, as WP leader, is involved across all tasks, its most direct participation has been in Task 1.1, where it acted as task leader, and Task 1.3, which is being used to develop a data model that serves as an interface between the systems that will communicate with the platform responsible for storing reported events within the project framework.

A summary of the work carried out by TIC4.0 is as follows:

• Task 1.1: Evaluation of Existing Standards aimed to analyze the current landscape of standards related to JIT arrival processes. The findings were consolidated into Deliverable D1.1, which identifies the key standardization and regulatory bodies influencing the sector. The deliverable includes a comparative analysis to detect gaps, overlaps, and the main constraints or barriers hindering the efficient deployment of standards that support the implementation of JIT operations. This work was led by TIC4.0. The deliverable is currently under review by the European Commission.

• Task 1.3: Harmonisation of Processes and Event Timestamps has focused on defining a harmonised and semantically structured representation of port call events and their associated timestamps. The core activity in this task has been the development of a TIC4.0-specific Data Model that structures the necessary data elements to describe operational events across all stakeholders involved in the port call process.

  The model integrates existing DCSA semantics in areas where those standards are already established, while relying on the TIC4.0 Ontology to provide formal consistency, modular structuring, and extensibility of the data definitions. This ensures both semantic alignment with global shipping standards and adaptability to port-specific operational contexts.

  The Data Model is organised around four modular message types: Port Call, Terminal Call, Port Call Service, and Port Call Status. This modularity enables complete traceability of operational processes and supports incremental, efficient updates of event data without redundancy. Furthermore, it facilitates semantic disambiguation and decoupling of the various layers of the port call lifecycle.

  Technically, stakeholder-specific data inputs are mapped to this model through semantic connectors, and subsequently transformed into NGSI-LD representations. These are consumed by the FIWARE Orion-LD Context Broker, enabling real-time contextual awareness across the architecture. Additional integration with Elasticsearch ensures historical traceability, while standardised access to data and notifications is supported via REST and MQTT interfaces.

  The model operates in conjunction with the FIWARE Smart Data Models, particularly the Marine Transport domain, to ensure compatibility in the representation of key entities such as PortCall, Vessel, and Port. The event-driven nature of the architecture is reflected in the API design, developed under the AsyncAPI specification and published in YAML and JSON formats to support system interoperability and seamless integration of external components.

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Figure 2. Data Exchange Platform

Regarding collaboration with WP2 and WP4, concerning WP2 and the integration of the Data Model with the MISSION Platform, it should be noted that the different data elements and their integration with the standard that the platform will use have been validated. This allows the architecture development team to create a REST API that translates TIC4.0 messages into the native data format used by the platform.

As for WP4, the first version of the JIT process reference has already been created, based on the JIT process at the Port of Valencia. From the development of this process, the initial list of events has also been created, which will be categorized by importance in a subsequent iteration to define the minimum set of events that must be exchanged to ensure a port call under the JIT scheme.

By taking part in MISSION, TIC4.0 benefits in multiple ways:

• To begin with, TIC4.0 plays a pivotal role in standardizing port call event data by driving the alignment of processes and timestamp definitions across the industry. This proactive involvement enables TIC4.0 to fine-tune and validate its data model in real-world operational settings, ensuring it remains both practical and effective for day-to-day maritime and terminal activities.
  
  

• Additionally, being part of MISSION supports the seamless integration of TIC4.0’s semantic framework with prominent industry standards and infrastructures, including DCSA protocols and the FIWARE Smart Data Models. Such collaboration broadens TIC4.0’s interoperability capabilities, advancing its mission to consolidate the various data environments that exist throughout the maritime sector.
  
  

• Furthermore, this initiative offers an excellent opportunity to evaluate—and enhance—the adaptability and scalability of TIC4.0’s data models. Iterative input gathered from actual system deployment and stakeholder feedback is instrumental for the continuous improvement and future evolution of TIC4.0’s standards.

• As part of the project, several initiatives have shown interest due to the relevance of the topic the project aims to address. Organizations such as the Port Call Optimization Network (PCO) held their meeting in Valencia alongside the MISSION Consortium meeting. This created an opportunity to showcase TIC4.0’s work on standardization and positioned the association as a key contributor, fostering close collaboration with organizations that are actively shaping maritime sector standards.

• Lastly, by engaging in a sophisticated, real-time data exchange platform like MISSION, TIC4.0 increases its prominence and solidifies its position in the digital transformation of port and terminal operations, paving the way for greater industry uptake and new collaboration opportunities.

In projects of this nature, the workload is typically organized into distinct Work Packages (WPs), each responsible for managing progress in a specific building block of the overall initiative. Every Work Package has a designated leader and is composed of several tasks that address specific subtopics within its scope. In the following chapter, a brief overview of each Work Package is provided.

Led by TIC4.0.

WP1 focuses on integrating, aligning, and advancing Just-In-Time port call optimization standards to improve interoperability, efficiency, and real-time coordination in maritime-port operations. It aims to harmonize ship-port call processes, standardize data semantics, and support the development of industry-recognized documentation and technical frameworks.

• T1.1 – Evaluation of Existing Standards
  Continuous assessment of current standardization initiatives (IMO/ISO, IALA, DCSA, TIC4.0), identifying those relevant to MISSION and validating them through real operational use cases. This includes defining decision-making principles and operational roadmaps.

• T1.2 – Collaborative Workflows and Contractual Frameworks
  Development of legal and commercial strategies to overcome barriers to JIT adoption, including contractual models, incentive mechanisms, and clauses for inclusion in charterparties and sale contracts.

• T1.3 – Harmonisation of Processes and Event Timestamps
  Alignment of ship-port call process descriptions and event timestamps under a unified semantic architecture compatible with existing standards and the MISSION project’s digital components.

• T1.4 – Innovation Roadmap for Standardisation
  Creation of a strategic plan identifying where and how digital and operational standards can be applied to improve efficiency and sustainability. This includes outlining technological interfaces and interoperability requirements based on validation results.

Led by Royal Dirkzwager (Netherlands).

WP2 aims to design and implement a robust, secure, and future-proof digital infrastructure that enables seamless data exchange and system interoperability across the maritime-port ecosystem. This infrastructure must be compatible with existing systems, scalable to accommodate future growth, and resilient against cybersecurity threats. A key goal is to ensure that all relevant stakeholders—from port authorities to shipping companies—can access and share real-time information through a harmonized platform. To achieve this, WP2 will define a comprehensive IT architecture, develop APIs and data sharing protocols, implement cybersecurity and identity management mechanisms, and provide user-friendly interfaces and decision-support tools that are integrated with current workflows and services.

• T2.1 – Design of IT Architecture
  Design a secure, scalable, and interoperable IT architecture based on existing systems and requirements. Define integration plans using data space and DLT approaches, including APIs and data standards.

• T2.2 – Implementation of Data Sharing and APIs
  Develop APIs and data sharing protocols to connect stakeholder systems with the IOTA TLIP platform. Enable real-time exchange and automation through smart contracts and ensure compatibility with European blockchain infrastructure.

• T2.3 – Data Availability and Cybersecurity
  Ensure secure, continuous data flow through access control, identity management, and cyber-resilience mechanisms. Perform threat modelling and integrate maritime connectivity tools.

• T2.4 – User Interfaces and Decision Support Tools
  Develop user-friendly interfaces and decision-support tools based on real-time data, UX principles, and stakeholder feedback, enabling efficient interaction with MISSION systems.

Led by Awake.AI (Finland)

The main objective is to develop a decision support system that enhances situational awareness, schedule prediction, and voyage planning. It aims to improve the predictability of port calls, optimize vessel allocation, and assess performance and safety. Ultimately, it supports more efficient asset use, faster turnaround times, and lower emissions.

T3.1 – Predictive Analytics for Port Call Planning
Develop machine learning models for predicting vessel schedules, port congestion, cargo operations, and hinterland traffic to enable large-scale situational awareness and forecasting.

T3.2 – Fleet Management Optimization
Create analytics and optimization services to support vessel allocation, predicting schedules, fuel consumption, emissions, and identifying the most efficient fleet deployment.

T3.3 – Voyage Optimization
Optimize routes and speeds to meet required arrival times safely, considering weather and marine conditions, while monitoring operational performance and emissions.

T3.4 – Simulation of Navigational Safety
Develop risk models and simulations to assess and ensure safe vessel operations and navigation during port arrivals and departures under various conditions.

T3.5 – End-to-End Orchestration
Integrate predictive analytics, optimization, and safety evaluations into a decision support system that continuously manages arrival queues, communicates schedules, and monitors execution to minimize waiting times and emissions.

Led by Syddansk University (SDU, Denmark)

This work package focuses on defining demonstration scenarios and validation plans, testing individual tools and subsystems, integrating these into a complete system, executing demonstration cases (DCs), and validating the technology readiness level (TRL). It aims to gather lessons learned and best practices to support iteration and standardization efforts in WP1.

Task 4.1 – Demonstration Scenarios and Validation Plan
Develops and refines the overall validation plan for MISSION demonstrations, defining locations, schedules, scenarios, goals, and evaluation methods. Ensures flexibility to address unforeseen challenges during demonstrations.

Task 4.2 – Container Shipping Demo Case
Plans, integrates, and implements demonstrations focused on container shipping traffic.

Task 4.3 – RoRo Shipping Demo Case
Plans, integrates, and implements demonstrations centered on RoRo shipping traffic.

Task 4.4 – Tramp Shipping Demo Case
Plans, integrates, and implements tramp shipping demonstrations, addressing complex navigational challenges in difficult waterways and multiple terminals.

Task 4.5 – TRL Validation, Lessons Learned, and Standardization
Evaluates demonstration cases using quantitative and qualitative data to produce assessment reports summarizing lessons learned, issues, mitigations, and alignment with WP1 requirements. Concludes with a final report including system-wide evaluation and recommendations.

Led by Valenciaport Foundation, Spain (VPF)

This work package aims to develop standard methods to assess financial and socio-economic costs and benefits of voyage and port call optimization tools. It analyzes incentive schemes for shared costs in tramp traffic, evaluates regulatory compliance with the JIT concept, conducts risk-based navigation simulations to enhance safety and resilience, and establishes baseline requirements to support the adoption and training of new JIT solutions in maritime operations.

T5.1 -Incentive Evaluation of Shared Costs and Benefits
Analyzes stakeholder incentives and challenges for adopting new technologies and operational models, identifying barriers and facilitating workshops to overcome reluctance.

T5.2 - Regulatory Compliance Evaluation
Assesses legal and regulatory challenges related to JIT port call optimization, focusing on safety, security, and data sharing, and provides recommendations for compliance and standards enhancement.

T5.3 - Navigational Safety and Operational Risk Assessment
Performs comprehensive safety assessments, real-time navigation simulations, and develops resilience models to evaluate and improve operational safety and cyber security risks.

T5.4 - Emissions Reduction Evaluation
Quantifies emissions reductions achieved by applying MISSION tools in demonstration cases, comparing vessel performance before and after implementation.

T5.5 - Financial and Socio-economic Analysis
Conducts cost-benefit analyses of MISSION solutions, including monetized environmental impacts, based on stakeholder interviews to support efficient resource allocation and green business models.

T5.6 - Stakeholders Change Management
Facilitates smooth adoption of new solutions by identifying barriers, enhancing communication, and delivering training to ensure integration into workflows while minimizing disruption and promoting collaboration.

Led by Revolve Media (Belgium)

WP6 aims to maximize the outreach and impact of the MISSION project by developing a comprehensive Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation (CDE) strategy, creating a strong visual identity and digital presence, organizing field visits for media and policymakers to demo sites, and producing a business model scalability report focused on green maritime shipping corridors.

T6.1 - Communication Strategy and Coordination
Develops and updates a comprehensive communication roadmap with stakeholder analysis, messaging, channels, and KPIs. Manages digital presence, regular impact reporting, and coordinates communication with related projects and networks.

T6.2 - Exploitation Strategy and IPR Management
Defines exploitation and scalability strategies for MISSION solutions, assessing commercial viability and industry-wide application, including links to green corridor initiatives. Manages intellectual property rights and data protection.

T6.3 - Green Business Models
Designs sustainable business models for the voyage and port call optimization tool, analyzing stakeholder ecosystems, barriers to emission reductions, and proposing necessary changes to ensure commercial viability and broad acceptance across the shipping ecosystem.

Led by SDU (Denmark)

This work package focuses on the overall project management, ensuring timely achievement of objectives, coordination of activities, compliance with regulations, quality assurance, and risk management. It oversees budget, progress reporting, issue resolution, and facilitates communication within the consortium and with the European Commission to maximize project impact.

T7.1 - Internal Project Management and Coordination
Led by SDU, this task ensures scientific and technical coherence, progress monitoring, risk mitigation, contractual compliance, and organizes biannual meetings. An External Advisory Board advises on innovation and business opportunities.

T7.2 - Financial and Accounting Management
SDU oversees budget supervision, financial reporting compliance, resource allocation, and handles financial communication with the European Commission.

T7.3 - Internal Communication and Data Management
Establishes a consortium intranet and data repository, defines documentation standards, and develops a Data Management Plan (DMP) adhering to Horizon Europe guidelines and FAIR principles to ensure secure, transparent data handling.

T7.4 - Quality Assurance and Risk Management
Implements quality control procedures and early risk detection measures, coordinates periodic assessments, organizes meetings focused on risk management, and maintains project collaboration platforms.

After a year and a half of work, the project has made progress in four main areas. These areas reflect the main developments during the development and implementation phases, establishing a basis for the next steps. The following sections summarize the key results in standardization, IT infrastructure, analytical tools, and demonstration cases, focusing on the collaborative work and technical developments achieved. These are the main details:

• Advanced TIC4.0 Data Model:
  Significant progress has been made in developing a TIC4.0-based data model to uniformly represent port call events and timestamps in JIT operations. The model aligns with major international standards such as IMO, ISO 28005, DCSA, and IALA, ensuring a common foundation for digital interoperability in maritime-port operations.

• Semantic Catalogs and Process Mapping:
  Detailed mapping of JIT processes in the Port of Valencia has aligned local operations with international semantic catalogs, enabling unified terminology, event classification, and information flows. This promotes better comparison and understanding among partners and systems.

• Integration with International Initiatives:
  Active collaboration continues with external initiatives like DCSA, IALA, and FIWARE through workshops and comparative analyses. A shared semantic catalog is being developed and distributed to partners, supporting scalability and transferability.

• Interoperable, Secure, and Scalable Architecture:
  Initial components of an IT architecture integrating heterogeneous maritime and port actors have been developed. It prioritizes resilience, security, and flexibility, facilitating future growth and smooth integration with existing systems.

• Open Data Sharing Protocols and APIs:
  Integration infrastructure uses OpenAPI specifications to document and validate services, allowing other systems to consume data from the MISSION environment. API implementations and data exchange protocols are underway, tested internally and aligned with standardized semantic models.

• Cybersecurity and Authentication Initiatives:
  Integration with the Maritime Connectivity Platform (MCP) has begun, offering identity management, robust authentication via X.509 certificates, and role-based access control. Authorization workflows and cybersecurity tests are in progress to ensure data confidentiality and integrity.

• Fleet Predictive and Optimization Models:
  Cloud-based machine learning models predict and monitor port call schedules and fleet movements, enabling anticipation of congestion, operation duration, and JIT-related efficiency and emission reductions.

• Route Optimization and Weather Considerations:
  Tools have been developed to optimize routes factoring in environmental (weather, wave conditions, regulations) and operational constraints (commercial goals, berthing windows), offering real-time route adjustments for efficiency, safety, and punctual arrivals.

• Simulation and Risk Assessment:
  Bayesian network models simulate navigation safety, assessing and mitigating risks like collisions, groundings, and delays along voyages and port environments, helping anticipate incidents and suggest preventive strategies.

• Design and Planning of Five Pilots:
  Five pilot scenarios have been defined, covering container traffic, RoRo, and bulk cargo across various ports and shipping lines (e.g., Valencia, Trieste, Piraeus). Each case addresses specific integration, communication, and JIT optimization challenges.

• Partner and Data Integration:
  Real operational data—schedules, IT integration capabilities, user requirements—are collected and progressively integrated with technical systems across terminals, shipping lines, port authorities, and data platforms.

• Active Cross-Sector Collaboration:
  Demonstration cases involve close cooperation among technological, logistic, operational, and regulatory partners, coordinated integration across phases and environments, aligning standards, APIs, and use cases to ensure scalable, reproducible results.

The next steps for the project involve the practical deployment of the technical solutions developed within Work Packages 1, 2, and 3, ensuring they effectively address the requirements of the Demonstration Cases.

• In this context, TIC4.0 holds the responsibility of validating the JIT reference process currently being developed in WP1. This validation must guarantee that the process accommodates all operational scenarios across the various ports participating in the project. Furthermore, it is essential to finalize the definition of a comprehensive set of event timestamps that accurately capture the timing of key operational milestones. Equally important is the development of the semantic catalogue, which is targeted for completion by the end of the first half of 2026 and will serve as a foundational element for semantic consistency across the system.

• Regarding the data model and system architecture, the project must begin testing the practical exchange of information between systems. This testing phase aims to identify any potential errors, gaps, or omissions within the current implementation and to propose viable solutions to address them. Such iterative validation will be critical to ensure the robustness, interoperability, and reliability of the overall system as it moves towards full operational readiness.