MARNET - The MARNET network, proposal for an inter-regional maritime information network
Overview
Background & policy context:
All major shipowners make use of world wide data exchange resources and all major ports use computer programs for operations management. Yet the integrated management of all these information flows has not kept pace.
In Europe there is considerable development of ‘open’ data exchange systems which are accessible to all transport and port operators, big and small. Speed of transport and cost control, as well as safety, are the aim. The European Communities’ involvement supports economic development, particularly in peripheral regions or areas facing difficulties.
The Southern Europe Port Communities, aware of the importance of this issue, decided to constitute a European economic interest group named ‘Euromar’, whose aim is to enhance the use of new information technologies.
The European Commission’s Transport Directorate General (DGVII) and Euromar have therefore embarked on a life-size experience, the MARNET research and development project.
Objectives:
The two-year MARNET project, which commenced in January 1997, has three complementary objectives:
- To implement data processing systems in small organisations.
- To exchange intermodal transport documents from door to door among all the partners.
- To set up a goods tracking service in the short sea shipping sector with the control of the movement of dangerous goods transport efficiency in mind
Specifically, the project aims to:
- Help simplify the procedures for all port communities connected to the MARNET network, either directly or via another network (such as Eurotrans Portnet), by providing harmonised procedures that will be used by all MARNET users regardless of their physical location.
- Combine existing systems and technologies to broaden their usage from local to regional and inter-regional level.
- Make a new set of global enabling services available to the existing systems.
Methodology:
The specific tasks of MARNET are:
- to identify the user requirements for the MARNET network and assess them in the User Requirements Workshop;
- to design the MARNET System according to the identified requirements;
- to develop a prototype system for evaluating the feasibility of the maritime information network fully implementing a representative group of services and creating reusable building blocks for access from non-automated ports;
- to trial the prototype by providing operational access to these services to big, medium and small ports regardless of their current information system;
- to evaluate the result of the trial and define the MARNET Expansion Plan.
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