Hamburg Port Launches iPORTUS to Advance Autonomous Watercraft Integration

Hamburg Port Authority has launched the iPORTUS research project alongside the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services and Kongsberg Maritime Germany, targeting the safe integration of autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) into complex port environments. The €1.7m project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Transport under the IHATEC II programme, focuses on nautical safety, cyber security and the development of regulatory frameworks that could enable routine autonomous watercraft operations in German ports.

The initiative addresses a practical gap in port digitalisation: while container terminals have increasingly automated their landside operations, waterside services such as surveying, inspection and environmental monitoring still rely heavily on crewed vessels. iPORTUS aims to establish both the technical systems and the approval pathways needed to deploy low-emission, remotely monitored ASVs for these functions. An initial consortium meeting is scheduled for 26 January 2026 at Fraunhofer CML, where partners will set the project’s technical direction.

Kongsberg Maritime brings established credentials in maritime autonomy to the collaboration, having served as lead technology partner in the EU’s Horizon 2020 AUTOSHIP project. That programme delivered successful demonstrations of remote and autonomous vessel operations on both Norwegian coastal waters and Belgian inland waterways in 2023, testing autonomous navigation, docking and cyber security systems across different vessel types and operational environments.