Tag Archive for: maritime logistics

The Invisible Infrastructure of the Blue Economy

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Written by Lidia Slawinska

Written by Lidia Slawinska, Communications Manager – Escola Europea Intermodal Transport

When we think about ports, the images that come to mind are often physical ones: cranes moving containers across terminals, vessels docking along quays, trucks and trains carrying cargo inland. For centuries, maritime logistics has been defined by these visible infrastructures—steel, concrete, and water routes connecting continents.

Yet today, much of the real infrastructure that makes global maritime trade possible is no longer visible.

Behind the movement of ships and cargo lies a rapidly expanding layer of digital systems, shared data platforms, and collaborative networks. These systems do not move containers directly, but they increasingly determine how efficiently, safely, and sustainably those containers move through the global supply chain. In other words, the digital blue economy is building a new kind of maritime infrastructure – one that exists largely in the background, but increasingly shapes the way ports function.

Ports as Information Hubs

Modern ports generate enormous volumes of data. Vessel arrival times, cargo documentation, terminal operations, customs procedures, and hinterland transport movements all create information that must be coordinated among multiple stakeholders.

To manage this complexity, many ports have developed Port Community Systems (PCS) – digital platforms that allow port authorities, shipping companies, freight forwarders, customs agencies, and logistics operators to exchange information in real time. According to the World Bank, these systems act as collaborative digital environments that streamline communication and coordination between the many actors operating within a port ecosystem.

The impact can be significant. By centralising and standardising information flows, PCS platforms reduce paperwork, accelerate decision-making, and improve visibility across the supply chain. They transform ports from places where information is fragmented into integrated digital hubs.

In many ways, this invisible infrastructure is becoming just as important as the physical one.

From Terminals to Digital Ecosystems

The digitalisation of ports is part of a broader transformation taking place across maritime logistics. Researchers increasingly describe this process as a systemic shift in the way port logistics are designed and coordinated, driven by data integration and digital technologies embedded across supply chain operations.

Leading ports around the world – from Singapore and Rotterdam to Los Angeles – are now developing what are often referred to as “smart port ecosystems.” These combine automation, artificial intelligence, data integration, and digital platforms to improve operational efficiency and resilience.

But the most important change is not technological alone. It lies in how these systems enable collaboration.

Ports are complex environments involving public authorities, shipping lines, terminal operators, logistics companies, and transport providers. Digital platforms allow these actors to share operational data, coordinate schedules, and anticipate disruptions in ways that were difficult to achieve just a decade ago.

In this sense, the digital blue economy is not simply about installing new technologies—it is about creating shared information environments that support collective decision-making across the maritime ecosystem.

A Growing Sector

The importance of these developments becomes clearer when viewed within the broader context of the blue economy.

According to the European Commission’s EU Blue Economy Report, maritime sectors – from transport and shipbuilding to renewable energy and coastal tourism – represent a significant economic ecosystem within Europe. Established blue economy sectors alone employed around 3.6 million people across the EU in recent years, highlighting the scale and economic relevance of these activities.

Within this landscape, ports play a central role as gateways between maritime and land-based logistics systems. As digitalisation advances, their ability to manage data, coordinate stakeholders, and integrate technologies will increasingly determine how competitive and resilient maritime trade networks become.

In other words, the digital layer supporting port operations is no longer optional – it is becoming foundational.

The Human Element Behind the Digital Port

Despite the technological emphasis often associated with smart ports, digital transformation is not simply about installing platforms or adopting new tools.

Successful digital ecosystems depend on people who understand how to use data, interpret complex systems, and collaborate across institutional boundaries. Governance structures, shared standards, and trust between stakeholders remain essential elements of any digital infrastructure.

Technology can connect systems, but it is collaboration that allows them to function effectively.

This is perhaps one of the most important lessons emerging from the digital blue economy: innovation in maritime logistics does not happen in isolation. It happens when ports, companies, and institutions work together to build shared environments where information can move as freely as cargo.

Seeing the Unseen

The cranes and vessels will always remain the most visible symbols of maritime trade. But increasingly, the efficiency of ports depends on something less tangible: the invisible architecture of data, platforms, and collaboration networks operating behind the scenes.

As maritime logistics continues to evolve, the challenge will not only be to invest in physical infrastructure, but also to strengthen these digital foundations.

Because in the ports of the future, the most important infrastructure may be the one we cannot see.

Sources

Don’t just take our word for it – explore the sources shaping this conversation:

Editorial note
This article was developed with the assistance of AI-based writing tools and verified against the sources listed above.

The Escola Europea as a model for training in the logistics and ports industry in Thailand

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On the 25th of October the Escola Europea, together with the Port of Barcelona and the Barcelona port community, signed a collaboration agreement in the framework of the Commercial and Trade Mission of the Port of Barcelona to Thailand. The agreement aimed to build and strengthen relationship with this country.

The document focused on training within the industry between the two port communities and was signed by Santiago Garcia-Milà, the Deputy Director General of Strategy and Development of the Port of Barcelona; Emili Sanz, Vice President of FETEIA-OLTRA; Marta Miquel, Chief Business Officer of the Escola Europea Intermodal-Transport; and Witoon Santibunyarat, President of the Thai International Freight Forwarders Association (TIFFA).

Among other things, the document highlighted the intentions and needs of the industry in both ports and recognised the need to build better trained, qualified, and digitalised port communities to improve the commercial relationship between Spain and Thailand, and make transactions more efficient. All of this was supported by the signatories, namely the Port of Barcelona, the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport, the Spanish Freight Forwarders Federation (Federación Española de Transitaris – FETEIA in Spanish) and TIFFA.

Trade mission in Thailand 2022

The meeting with the Thai International Freight Forwarders Association (TIFFA) was accompanied by a working session entitled “Logistics training”. The session organised as part of the port’s trade mission to Thailand together with associations of consignees, customs agents and forwarding agents from both Barcelona and Bangkok. This event helped configure the training programmes that make up the Barcelona port community, and therewith position itself as a model of reference for the port-logistics fabric of Thailand.

In practical terms, the agreement reached envisioned the promotion of joint activities in the field of training and the implementation of a pilot training course in international trade operations, which will focus on trade transactions between Thailand, Europe and Mediterranean countries. Based on the results of this pilot course and the parties’ interest in further developing the relationship, the establishment of a stable collaboration framework for the development of joint courses will be considered, as well as the exchange of students in the frameworks of international projects. As part of this commitment to training Port Virtual Lab was introduced – a simulation tool for a cluster of companies and entities that make up a virtual port community, and that is able to simulate real operations.

Digitalization of operations is a necessity in today’s industries and that is why the Escola Europea has developed this innovative training platform. Both professionals and students of higher education institutions and can experience firsthand activities related to international trade, all the while interacting with our simulated companies. This way, Port Virtual Lab  provides the practitioner with an experiential learning environment from a distance, one in which users are immersed in a creative social space that allows them to design and experience their own training and innovation.

If you would like to know more about the trade mission, or are curious about the new platform, you can check out the platform website (https://www.portvirtuallab.com) or contact us ([email protected]).

Healthy habits create new traffic for temperature-controlled logistics

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The growth in healthy eating habits has led to an increase in demand for temperature-controlled logistics

Lockdowns, and the subsequent re-openings of our societies have influenced how we, as a society, approach our overall health (we’re looking at you Peleton!). This demand for healthy nutrition, which is marked by the changing global diet trends, has increased. In response to that, cold logistics has become central in the response to meet this rising demand for fresh and frozen foods.

Many of the players in the reefer industry have noted that the growing healthy consumption habits have helped sustain growth in reefer volumes post-pandemic; a growth that is expected to continue despite the nuances of a more subdued 2022. “There is a growth in demand over the last few years, and there is an increasing need in the logistics sector to move products related to that trend, whether it is health products, fresh food or frozen food,” says Cold Chain Federation UK chief executive Shane Brennan (El Mercantil, October 2022), adding that “it is clear that this will be an area of safe investment for the next five to ten years”.

A maritime growth

When looking at overall reefer trends, it is clear that the maritime leg has taken a large volume of investments in recent years. Up to 46% of global trade in perishable goods is transported by sea – and in many cases these require very specific temperatures throughout the different stages of transport (in transit, in port, or even during the last mile delivery).

Different goods also have different standards set by international organisations, and it is pivotal for transport operators to ensure that perishable goods are transported in conditions that don’t affect product quality (for a refresher on the Cold Chain, head to our blog to read up on the Introduction to the Cold Chain).

Because more and more people want access to fresh fruits and vegetables (in- our out-of-season), the reefer container business has been thriving. The El Mercantil article quotes Gregory Tuthill, the director of SeaCube (an innovative North American company specialising in the leasing of containers) as having attested to this trend. “In general terms, we can talk about a growth that is accelerating right now and that has to do mainly with products such as fresh fruit and vegetables”. This trend has “an effect on the demand for refrigerated containers.”

With more reefer containers, more storage space in ports is also needed. As an     example, we can look at the Port of Barcelona. Hutchison Port’s managed BEST container terminal in the Catalan Capital has enhanced its reefer services in recent years. The terminal is now able to carry out semi-automated pre-trip inspection services for reefer containers. Repairs to any damages can also be carried out on site. “The Hong Kong-based operator is in a position to offer an integral and complete service for reefer containers, from connection and disconnection, to their monitoring, or the personalised attention to super reefers.” Similar investment in temperature controlled equipment management has been seen in other ports of Europe, and is expected to grow in the coming years.

6 keys to an effective temperature-controlled logistics

From maintaining stable temperatures and documentation requirements, to packaging and security considerations, we recommend you our spanish course in Temperature-Controlled Supply Chain Logistics in  Barcelona.

For more ifnormation on temperature-controlled supply chain logistcis in spanish, download  and jump on the guide:

Sources:

–      Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport #DidYouKnow blog

–      El Mercantil

–      Container News