Drones as a preferable means of ensuring the monitoring, for safety and security purposes, of road, rail and maritime infrastructures and thus improving the efficiency of transport related to port traffic. Yesterday and today were testing days for drones that took to the air from Molo Garibaldi. They flew over the exclusive area above the LSCT terminal (in particular Molo Fornelli, Molo Garibaldi, Calata Paita) for a trial that is part of the European Labyrinth project, within the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme, coordinated by the Carlos III University in Madrid.
The East Ligurian Port Network Authority is one of the 13 partners from Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Austria. It’s role in the project is to study the use of drones for monitoring all types of transport infrastructure.
In particular, the Port of La Spezia, has been chosen, among the first in Italy, as a pilot site for testing, both technically and in regulatory terms, innovative technologies, such as remotely piloted aircraft, for monitoring safety/security in the port maritime context. In particular, cargo handling, in order to ensure greater safety for workers, while avoiding possible interferences with handling operations themselves.
A number of potential uses have been defined together with the terminal operator at La Spezia Container Terminal:
- Monitoring the perimeter of the terminal concession area and gate for safety and security reasons
- Monitoring storage areas to verify the correct positioning of containers
- Checking handling vehicle transit areas in order to monitor traffic and any interference between vehicles and operators
This project is the first step in a programme for testing and applying this type of technology that allows the East Ligurian Port Network Authority to be at the forefront in the Italian port panorama. This initiative is designed to be extended to the entire port area of La Spezia and Marina di Carrara.
Translation by Giles Foster
