Bug Wright 2

WMU HOSTS BUGWRIGHT2 FORUM 2024

admin — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 09:55:59 +0000

On 16 February, the World Maritime University’s WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) hosted the WMU-BUGWRIGHT2 Forum 2024. The Forum was delivered under the auspices of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework funded project BUGWRIGHT2, and in partnership with Danaos Shipping at their headquarters in Athens, Greece.

The Forum brought together academics and experts in robotics and law to deliberate the strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, and prospects stemming from the implementation of technology and/or techniques within the maritime and oceanic realm. The event was opened by Professor Max Mejia, WMU President, who spoke about how the integration of service robotics offers the potential to revolutionize how we understand and harness the power of our oceans.

Mr Leonidas Dimitriadis-Evgenidis, IMO Goodwill Maritime Ambassador and Chairman of the Management Committee of Eugenides Foundation, welcomed the participants to Athens, highlighting the importance of Greece in the navigation and shipping industry. The Forum was led by Professor Ronán Long and Dr Tafsir Johansson of the WMU-GOI who introduced the BUGWRIGHT2 programme and shared the successful research journey, significant deliverables and project conclusion of the WMU-GOI contributions and work on “Overcoming Regulatory Barriers for Service Robotics in an Ocean Industry Context”, in the EU H2020 funded project, focusing on ‘Autonomous Robotic Inspection and Maintenance on Ship Hulls’. BUGWRIGHT2 is set to conclude in March 2024.

Over 30 expert speakers from academic, industry, legislative, and intergovernmental agencies held discussions on topics that included the rise of maritime robotics, environmental challenges with innovation, technology and industry perceptions, innovation and regulation, bridging the north-south digital divide, and recommendations for digital reform. The discussions generated lively debate with the audience, both onsite and online.

The combined onsite and online registration included over 330 participants from more than 68 different countries representing a wide range of sectors including governmental agencies, academia as well as industry, UN agencies, NGOs and civil society.

To access photos from the event as well as the recording, click here.

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WMU-GOI BUGWRIGHT2 presents at DEVPORT 2023

admin — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 11:44:36 +0000

What role is there for smaller ports in tomorrow’s maritime system? was the main question of the DEVPORT 2023 conference, organised in October 4-5, 2023 in Le Havre, France. The objective is to compare the different disciplinary approaches referring to this theme of maritime activity at the international level.
The colloquium also addressed questions around climatic issues such as the decarbonisation of maritime transport, territorial development in relation to port activity, competition or cooperation between large ports and smaller ports or the socio-economic impact of these secondary ports on their territory…

Dr. Aspasia Pastra (WMU) presented a paper titled ‘BUGWRIGHT2 Remote Inspection Techniques in Medium and Small-Sized Scandinavian Ports: Application, Advantage & Adversity’ presented at the Devport Conference.

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WMU-GOI BUGWRIGHT2 Presents at 46th Conference on Ocean Law and Policy (COLP)

admin — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 11:01:00 +0000

From 20 to 22 September 2023, the WMU took part in the 46th Conference on Ocean Law and Policy (COLP), in Istanbul, Türkiye. The conference theme of “Safe, Secure, and Sustainable Shipping” gathered participants from around the world to discuss pressing issues regarding sustainability in the shipping industry and ocean governance and the project was presented in two different presentations:

Dr. Aspasia Pastra’s presentation was titled “Optimizing the Vessel Inspection Domain via Robotic Systems: The “Human Element” Conundrum”. Here Dr. Pastra highlighted where the work of the human ends and when the work of the service robots begin through a detailed understanding of the status quo human-robot interface in the maritime sector.
Another presentation by Dr. Tafsir Johansson titled “Standards in Decarbonization and Techno-regulation (NP): Transcending Prescriptive Boundaries” under the panel titled “Protection of the Marine Environment”.

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Presentations at 7th Naftemporiki Shipping ConferencePresentations at

admin — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 11:07:54 +0000

Dr. Aspasia Pastra and Dr. Tafsir Johansson (WMU) participated in the 7th Naftemporiki Shipping Conference entitled “The big dilemmas”, that took place on Wednesday 14 June 2023 at Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) in Greece.
The structure of the conference consisted of discussion panels on different topics, with 500 participants including prominent executives from the shipping market, representatives of institutions from Greece and abroad, and shipping opinion makers.

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14th NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center (NMIOTC) Conference (7-8 June)

admin — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 11:13:08 +0000

Professor Dimitrios Dalaklis and Dr. Tafsir Johansson (WMU) participated to the 14th NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center (NMIOTC) Conference (7-8 June) on the 8th of June 2023 in Souda Bay, Greece.

They gave a joint presentation about Protecting Critical Maritime Infrastructures via Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS): Harmonized Techno-Regulatory Dynamics in Profile to various participants such as academia, law enforcement agencies, military organisations, judiciary and ministerial authorities, private sector and defence industry, NATO, NGOs, non-NATO countries and the broader maritime community of interest.

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BUGWRIGHT2 presents at Delphi Economic Forum

admin — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 11:21:15 +0000

Delphi Economic Forum is a non-profit, nonpartisan organisation working in close cooperation with civil society, public organisations, businesses and individuals.

WMU, represented by Dr. Tafsir Johansson and Dr. Aspasia Pastra, participated to the 8th Annual Meeting on 27th April 2023 in Athens, Greece.

The panel was about Envisioning Blue Oceanic Affairs with Emerging Technologies with speakers from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Logistro Consulting International Inc., Atlantic Bulk Carriers Management, Lloyd’s Register EMEA and Qualco Group.

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BugWright2 at the seminar for Scandinavian Port Security Facility Officers

admin — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 06:40:47 +0000

On 18-19 of April 2023, the Nordic Crisis Management organised in Göteborg/Sweden a Seminar for Scandinavian Port Security Facility Officers.

The Seminar aimed to update the participants on regulations, routines and best practices in their duties related to maritime security. The lectures were relevant to Maritime Security Regulations and Port Security Plans. The seminar also featured ocean technology and innovations under the WMU’s EU BugWright2 project.

On 19 April 2023, Dr. Aspasia Pastra presented the project to the participants and a brainstorming session followed regarding the benefits and challenges of Remote Inspections Techniques (Drones, Remotely Operated Vehicles and Magnetic Crawlers) for port operations.

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IMO-WMU Conference: Protecting the Ocean – Moving forward at 50: London Convention & Stockholm Declaration

admin — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 12:09:06 +0000

From 10-13 October, world leading experts on Maritime Law and Law of the Sea contributed to the IMO-WMU Joint International Academic Conference: Protecting the Ocean – Moving forward at 50: London Convention & Stockholm Declaration, hosted at the World Maritime University (WMU). The intent was to help raise awareness and discuss ocean- and climate-related topics under the framework of the London Convention and Stockholm Declaration’s 50th anniversaries with the objective to achieve new research insights and establish impactful actions.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the WMU – Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI), and The Nippon Foundation were the primary co-sponsors of the conference that included topical papers focused on the 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention) and the 1972 Declaration of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment (Stockholm Declaration), as well as invaluable perspectives from distinguished expert commentators from Government Ministries, UN Agencies and Programmes, International and Regional Organizations, Academic Institutions and Civil Society.

Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, WMU President, welcomed the participants. She highlighted that the London Convention & Stockholm Declaration were the grounds for our current system of global environmental governance. However, she noted that international environmental institutions lack adequate funding and effective enforcement mechanisms. In addition, individual States are reluctant to relinquish their sovereignty and rights to pursue their own national interests, which has consequently not resulted in a reversal of trends and patterns of global environmental degradation. “This leaves us on a path toward a devastating ecological crisis. We need to strengthen the global institutions, we need the public and private sectors, the civil society actors, and individual citizens and consumers to take on far more responsibilities for environmental governance,“ said President Doumbia-Henry. More than anything else, we need effective capacity development across the Global South, so that no one is left behind.

Mr Arsenio Dominguez, Director of the IMO’s Marine Environment Division delivered the opening keynote saying, “This conference is an opportunity to focus not on what has been achieved and how we have done it, but to take that experience into what comes next.” He spoke of the significance of the London Convention & Stockholm Declaration that recognized the importance of protecting the ocean and have become the basis for successive, related efforts such as a plastic agreement discussion and GHG reduction initiatives. “We all depend on the ocean, and we need to approach it in a sustainable manner, take responsibility for damage caused, and take necessary measures for member States to protect it,” said Mr Dominguez.

World leading experts on Maritime Law and Law of the Sea contributed to the conference programme on topics that included: Retrospective on London Convention & Stockholm Declaration, Science & Technology, International & Regional Approaches, Jurisdictional Issues, Capacity Building & Technology Transfer, and Contemporary Issues & Future Development. Well over 600 participants joined the hybrid event that was offered both online and in-person.

Keynote speeches were delivered by Ambassador Nancy Karigithu, Principal Secretary and Special Envoy for Maritime and Blue Economy for the State Department of Maritime and Shipping Affairs of Kenya, and Ambassador Rena Lee, President of the BBNJ Conference and Ambassador for Oceans and Law of the Sea Issues and Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Singapore. Ambassador Karigithu highlighted that more effective governance, capacity building and implementation are required to protect our ocean. Ambassador Lee drew on the similarities between the negotiation of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement and the London Convention and Stockholm Protocol that are all mutually grounded in conservation of the ocean. She emphasized the vital importance of facilitating, encouraging and enhancing close cooperation across all concerned parties in order to meet the monumental objective of protecting our ocean.

Dr Tafsir Johannson presented the Bugwright2 project to the participants focusing on Reconnoitring Techno-regulatory Dimensions of the Human Environment in Maritime Robotics Autonomous Systems.

Professor Ronan Long, Director of the GOI, said that the conference findings indicated that there were significant accomplishments over the past fifty years in protecting the marine environment, but that there is much more work to be done in order to ensure a sustainable future for the ocean and humanity. Many calls were made for ratification and implementation of the landmark London Convention and its 1996 Protocol. The clear message was that ensuring the protection of our ocean is not a task only for governments, politicians, and organizations. The responsibility also lies with every person on this planet to reduce waste, make informed and sustainable choices, and make their voice heard so we all demand, and ensure a sustainable future for our ocean, and ultimately ourselves.

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Presentation: Deployment of Remote Inspection Techniques Maintaining Dynamic Governance: Umbrella Regulation or Self-Regulation?

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 12:12:56 +0000

Bugwright 2 was presented virtually at The 7th International Conference on Ocean Law & Policy Interdisciplinary Policy and Law on Artificial Intelligence in Marine Affairs of the National Taiwan Ocean University.

The title of the presentation is the following:

Johansson, T. and Pastra, A. (14 October 2022) Deployment of Remote Inspection Techniques Maintaining Dynamic Governance: Umbrella Regulation or Self-Regulation? 7th International Conference on Ocean Law and Policy; Interdisciplinary Policy and Law on Artificial Intelligence in Maritime Affairs, National Taiwan Ocean University

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Annual Seminar for Port Security Officers

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 12:17:51 +0000

On 28-29 September, the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) of the World Maritime University (WMU) hosted a Seminar for Port Security Officers (PSO). The event was co-organized with Nordic Crisis Management and included 15 Harbour Masters from the Scandinavian Region. The objective of the seminar was to qualify and update the participants on regulations, routines and best practices in their duties related to maritime security. The seminar also featured marine technology and innovations under the Horizon 2020 BugWright2 project of which WMU is a partner.

Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, WMU President, provided remarks for the opening of the seminar. She emphasized the contribution of WMU in advanced education and research, capacity-building and economic development while promoting the roles of women in the maritime and ocean sectors. She spoke of the invaluable role that digitalization will play in the development and sustainable operation of the maritime and port sectors including “Smart ports” that will optimize capacity and maximize efficiency through the use of ‘Big Data’, the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT), ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI) and ‘Blockchain’ technologies. To be successful in that regard, she concluded that it is imperative to adopt progressive approaches to port security and management in a collaborative manner working constructively with the governments, industry and all the relevant port stakeholders.

Day one of the seminar included presentations from Nordic Crisis Management relevant to EU and national Maritime Security Regulations, Port State Officer's (PSO's) responsibilities, Port Security Assessment (PSA), Port Security Plan (PSP) and verifications and audits. On day two, Dr Aspasia Pastra presented the EU-funded BugWright2 project regarding Autonomous Robotic Inspection and Maintenance on Ship Hulls. The Horizon 2020 project aims to change the European robotics landscape for infrastructure inspection and maintenance and facilitate a multi-robot visual and acoustic inspection of the whole ship structure, detecting corrosion patches or cleaning the surface as necessary. A round table discussion with Port Officers followed regarding the security challenges and benefits that stem from the use of Micro Air Vehicles (MAV), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and magnetic-wheeled crawlers at ports in the Scandinavian region. Additional presentations included the topics of Security Awareness, Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management in ports.

The Seminar for Port Security Officers is organized annually by Nordic Crisis Management in cooperation with a different host organization each year. The aim is to train Scandinavian Harbour Masters on the latest developments of the ISPS Code. This is the first time WMU has hosted the Seminar. Cooperation in the delivery of such activities supports WMU's commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, Goal 4 focused on inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all, and Goal 17 focused on partnerships. The Seminar is also connected to the Work Package of the EU Bugwright2 project which includes public awareness for the dissemination of the project.

The cooperation between Nordic Crisis Management and GOI has been long-standing since they have been instrumental in facilitating connections with Port State Control Officers for various Transport Canada projects.

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