Bringing vision to life with hi-tech
As the Port of Singapore's Next-Generation ambitions continue to manifest with the construction of
Tuas Terminal, a combination of technologies and innovations are called for to increase
efficiency and safety of operations at one of the world's busiest container transhipment hub.
Wärtsilä, a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine
and energy markets, responded to this call by opening up a Wärtsilä Acceleration Centre (WAC) in
the city-state with the sole aim of fostering more innovation in the local marine ecosystem.
Through collaboration with local partners, industry and academia, Wärtsilä aims to raise the bar in
maritime by co-creating tailored, avant-garde and eventually commercially-viable hi-tech solutions
to boost, as one example, safety within the bustling harbour environment.
From Tug to IntelliTug
Partnering alongside PSA Marine and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Wärtsilä has
embarked on a project to enhance the capabilities of the harbour tug.
With more than 90,000 towage jobs per year, the PSA Marine tug operations are an important
lifeline in the Port of Singapore. In order to meet the demands of the evolving next-generation port,
this collaboration is intended to bring to life a smarter tug - also known as the "IntelliTug"
This smart tug aims to further improve tug safety and its efficiencies, while reducing operator
workload and pressures of the future port. A fusion of new-to-market near-field
wideband radar and real-time video analytics integrated with a light-weight, human-centric mission
control system, this will enhance situational awareness and enable collision avoidance using
adaptive and dynamic route planning capabilities.
Collaboration for progress
The unwavering ambition remains to accelerate and transform promising ideas into real-life
applications for the maritime sector and to deliver these to market much faster than before through
ecosystem collaboration. By taking a human-centric and co-creation mindset, Wärtsilä along with
their partners are adopting an agile approach in prioritising initiatives, striking the right balance
between people and technology; working together with customers, regulators, class societies,
academia and start-ups to address challenges in a creative yet systematic way to problem-solve and
meet the needs of multiple stakeholders simultaneously.
In addition, the WAC also plays host to an International Maritime Cyber Centre of Excellence which
will help drive cyber awareness and respond to cyber incidents, where hackers can attempt to
interfere with ship navigational systems and other digital equipment.
Opened in October 2018, the Centre follows an agreement between the smart technology company,
Wärtsilä, and MPA to collaborate on areas such as intelligent vessels, connected smart port
operations, cyber-physical security and digital acceleration with start-ups.
With WACs already located in both Singapore and Helsinki where the corporation is
headquartered - and a sizeable Smart Technology Hub under construction in Vaasa, Finland,
Wärtsilä is fast creating a global open innovation footprint as a means for bringing their vision of a
Smart Marine Ecosystem to the fore. Collaboration for progress is the name of the game for
Wärtsilä's centres and the IntelliTug project bears great testimony to its unfolding success thus far.
Media contacts:
Chris Chung
Director,
Ecosystem Development,
Wärtsilä Acceleration Centre Singapore
Ms Marit Holmlund-Sund
Senior Manager Marketing, Communications, Marine Solutions
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel: +358 10 709 1439
marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
