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    ION receives grant to support UK port decarbonization

    Sept. 17, 2021
    ION’s Software group has received a grant to advance port decarbonization through its maritime digitalization platform, Marlin SmartPort.
    (Courtesy ION Geophysical Corp.)
    Ion917 6144e07fee4f4

    Offshore staff

    HOUSTON – ION Geophysical Corp.’s Edinburgh-based Software group has received a grant to advance port decarbonization through its maritime digitalization platform, Marlin SmartPort.

    The grant supports the UK’s Ten Point Plan to address climate change and help achieve the country’s net-zero emissions target by 2050.

    The Data-Led Emissions Management project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, funded by the UK Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. The six-month pilot study is expected to validate whether vessel fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions can be reliably estimated in and around ports using the International Maritime Organization global standard.

    Announced in March 2020, the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition is a £20-million ($27-million) investment from the government alongside a further ~£10 million ($14 million) from industry to reduce emissions in the maritime sector. The program is supporting 55 projects across the UK, including projects in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and from the southwest to the northeast of England.

    As set out in the Clean Maritime Plan (2019), government funding has been used to support early stage research relating to clean maritime. The program will be used to support the research, design, and development of zero emission technology and infrastructure solutions for maritime and to accelerate decarbonization in the sector.

    (Courtesy ION)
    Marlin SmartPort is a modular Cloud-based solution that manages port operations including port calls and back office administration.
    Marlin SmartPort is a modular Cloud-based solution that manages port operations including port calls and back office administration.

    Stuart Darling, senior vice president of ION’s Software group, said: “Today approximately 90% of goods are transported by sea and global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of global CO2 emissions. Our technology is focused on creating high value information that drives smarter, safer management of the 5,000+ ports globally and the 50,000+ cargo vessels that transit between them.

    “This grant enables us to continue advancing our maritime digitalization platform, Marlin SmartPort, which integrates systems and data to provide better real-time visibility and actionable intelligence to operate with just-in-time efficiency, minimizing fuel consumption and emissions. Our goal is to develop and validate fuel monitoring capabilities to start tracking and, ultimately, to reduce port-related shipping emissions.”

    He continued: “On behalf of ION, I would like to thank our project partners, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, who will supply the data, and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, who will assist with the analysis.”

    09/17/2021