The Sea Traffic Management in the EAstern Mediterranean (STEAM) Project is a three-year project led by the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) that started on 1 January 2019. STEAM is funded under the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation’s “Integrated” projects with a budget of approximately 1 Million Euro.
The general objective of the STEAM Project is to develop the Port of Limassol to become:
- a world-class transshipment and information hub adopting modern digital technologies for the maritime sector and
- a driver for short sea shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean through enhanced services based on standardized ship and port connectivity.
The STEAM Project is based on the foundations laid out by the EU Sea Traffic Management (STM) Validation Project. The foundational concept of a Collaborative Decision Making system for ports (PortCDM) is currently being validated in 13 ports of Europe, including the Port of Limassol. The STEAM Project significantly extended and enhanced the implementation of the STM concept through the creation of a PortCDM information platform. This platform will serve as the main tool for the collection and analysis of relevant data for the efficient management of the Port of Limassol.
The Cyprus Technological University (CUT) in Limassol hosted the kick-off meeting. It was attended by all partners – established maritime stakeholders of the quadruple helix: research/academic institutions (CUT), private enterprises (TOTOTHEO, DELEVANT, CSCS), public authorities (Cyprus Port Authority) and civil society organizations (Cyprus Shipping Association), as well as the Sweden’s research institute and innovation partner, RISE.
Ocean Data Maps
CSCS built a data sharing platform for the maritime sector. One of STEAM’s tasks is to incorporate innovative technological solutions to provide real-time information regarding the state of the sea. This information is of great value to all actors involved in marine navigation. STEAM’s data sharing platform increases the effectiveness, efficiency and safety of port operations.
This ocean data maps display environmental monitoring data related to various parameters.
Visit these pages for the respective parameters:
Ocean Biogeochemical
Sea Physics & Meteorological
Oceanographic Buoy Integration
Each research buoy consists of a central steel structure with buoyancy provided by UV stabilized rotationally-molded polyethylene floats. The floats are bolted around this structure manufactured by Mobilis.
For each one, Cyprus Subsea integrated the required oceanographic instruments, a communication system and a renewable energy system to power the instruments and communication electronics. The communication systems transmit the ocean data to onshore servers for stakeholders to view the measurements in real-time.
Oceanographic Instruments & LoRa Technology
The research buoys have a combination of oceanographic instruments that measure:
- conductivity
- temperature
- turbidity
- chlorophyll
- CDOM/FDOM
- refined fuels
LoRa technology transmits this ocean data to users onshore. LoRa-based devices translate data into RF signals that can be sent and received over the air. The extremely long-range data links also require little power.
Deployment of Buoys
In addition to this integration work, Cyprus Subsea coordinated the construction of the mooring systems and final buoy deployments.
Each mooring system consists of robust marine-grade shackles, swivels, braided rope, stud chain and subsurface float. A 1.5 ton steel-reinforced cement block sinker anchors the buoy to the seafloor. The mooring system design allows each buoy to move freely within a small defined radius, while at the same time avoiding submersion during the maximum expected waves.
Data Management facilitated by ERDDAP
Real time ocean data from the various sensors integrated on the two research buoys are now available to view and download through this web data service.
erddap.cyprus-subsea.com
ERDDAP is a data server that provides users a simple, consistent way to download subsets of gridded and tabular scientific datasets in common file formats. Complete data sets will be uploaded regularly, as the sensors are brought in for maintenance and data extraction.
Visualization of environmental data buoys’ data flow is available through Cyprus Subsea’s visualization platform (login credentials are required):
sensors.cyprus-subsea.com
Contact us for access to this visualization platform.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation under grant agreement No INTEGRATED/0916/0063.