DenCity develops innovative solutions for sustainable and highly efficient passenger and freight transport in densely populated cities. It is a collaborative research project between industry, academia and society in three phases. Phase 3 is ongoing, and the objective is to scale up and implement solutions already developed in earlier phase 2. In this pilot a barge will be designed and implemented in Gothenburg city, at which households can leave their waste as well as items for reuse. 

A new research article is published in the journal Marine Policy. This paper provides an overview of how Automatic Identification System (AIS) can be used in different areas of maritime research. The researchers have identified and presents ten different research areas in which AIS is used today. In the future they propose making use of AIS data also in other research fields. Many stakeholders can benefit from the research in which AIS data is used.

The paper “Comparison of modern keel types for sail boats” was published in late 2017. The study systematically evaluated the hydrodynamic performance of different types of bulb keels. Recently, the paper was awarded with two prizes at the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) annual meeting. The Institution’s Medal of Distinction and the Austin Farrar Prize.

We have completed a research project with the aim to gain increased knowledge of the effect a rough surface has on skin friction. This project has also resulted in an interactive tool that can be used to estimate fuel consumption without requiring background knowledge in hydrodynamics. This tool will hopefully contribute to better surface treatment of vessels, that in the end can reduce costs and emission of greenhouse gases.

To assess how ship domains vary under different geographical settings and in different types of meetings, SSPA performed a case study. Our researchers studied over 600,000 ship encounters at 36 locations around the Swedish coast. The conclusion is that the ship domain has the shape of an ellipse with half axes radii of 0.9 and 0.45 nautical miles in open waters. In contrast to previous research, it has also been discovered that the ship domain is unrelated to the length of the ship.

During the last few years, companies exporting and importing goods have experienced severe difficulties with goods going through the container terminal at the port of Gothenburg. As a consequence, goods have been delayed and rerouted. As part of a research project, SSPA researchers have mapped the logistical consequences for various actors in the supply chain as well as what they have done to mitigate these effects.

SSPA leads the ITTC Specialist Committee on Combined CFD/EFD Methods. The purpose of the committee is to initiate and support the process of introducing combined CFD/EFD methods in ITTC’s procedures. By using the best combination, rather than viewing them as competing methods, we can deliver even better predictions. To facilitate the introduction in our community, the Committee has identified several research areas which need to be addressed.

Inland waterway transport offers relatively slow, cheap, climate friendly hinterland transport alternatives for commodities transported in large quantities or bulk. Many waterways in Europe remain widely un-/underused in the past decades. By piloting eight small waterway modal shifts, the project will showcase proven concepts that can be adopted by the market.