A Belfast Harbour-led consortium has been awarded funding for a feasibility study into the adoption of autonomous port technology. 

The Northern Irish maritime hub has been awarded almost £400,000 from the Department for Transport (DoT)’s Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund.   

The group will carry out a study at the Harbour’s Victoria Terminal 3 to determine how autonomous software and hardware can optimise fleet operations. 

The study will also attempt to demonstrate scalability and affordability in adopting autonomous solutions.   

“We are excited to launch this initiative, which seeks to address a critical gap in the shipping supply chain, where traditional TT operations have been a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and operational inefficiencies,” said Laura O’Neill, digital transformation manager at Belfast Harbour.   

“The project is part of Belfast Harbour’s commitment to building a sustainable future and further enhances our ESG credentials by partnering with key tenants to help them address Scope 3 emissions. The study aims to reduce the amount of time TTs are idle, increase throughput of containers and investigate the potential for higher skilled jobs.”  

The study will take place over a five-month period from November. 

“Our goal is to develop and demonstrate a regulatory-compliant autonomous TT solution that can be seamlessly replicated across regional ports in the UK and beyond,” said Sadaf Ghani, chief marketing communication officer at Aidrivers Ltd.   

“By showcasing the scalability and efficiency of autonomous TTs in smaller ports, the initiative aims to set new standards in global port operations while positioning UK companies as leaders in autonomous port technologies.” 

The shipbuilding industry in the Northern Irish capital was a major source of development during the 20th century, however, has since fallen on difficult times. 

The harbour area of Belfast faced a tough economic blow this year when Harland and Wolff, the owner of Belfast Shipyard, entered administration after failing to secure adequate funding. 

The Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund is delivered by Innovate UK on behalf of the DoT. The fund is part of a £206m programme to developing decarbonising technology in the British maritime sector. 

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced on Tuesday it would be awarding £2m in prize money to AI projects that demonstrated ways to increase clean energy use. 

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