Cargotec, together with leading and ICT companies, will establish world’s first ecosystem aimed at creating autonomous marine transport system to the Baltic Sea by 2025.

The initiative is largely financed by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for innovation. In addition to Cargotec, the main investing companies are Ericsson, Meyer Turku, Rolls-Royce, Tieto and Wärtsilä. The ecosystem platform is being handled by DIMECC, a leading co-creation ecosystem provider.

“For decades, Cargotec’s business areas MacGregor and Kalmar have been pioneering solutions on-board and at ports for efficient and safe cargo flow solutions,” says Soili Mäkinen, CIO at Cargotec. “This initiative is in line with our ambitions, and we are excited to be part of it. We invite all industry stakeholders to collaborate in this area.”

“MacGregor is committed to maximising the lifetime profitability of its customers’ operations. We understand, that this is best done in close cooperation with customers and other stakeholders,” says Pasi Lehtonen, SVP, Marketing, Business Development and Strategy, MacGregor. “In order to boost industry transformation, MacGregor has called for an industry renewal discussion under the theme “So much potential – let’s not waste it“. Productivity developments will be driven by advancements in connectivity and digitalisation, along with new business models and capabilities. Autonomous maritime transportation is a perfect example of such new capability.”

“Kalmar is pleased to collaborate with industry leaders in finding ways to expand automation in the maritime logistics chain. This initiative has great potential to help in increasing safety and productivity not only in container ports but in the whole maritime industry,” says Tommi Pettersson, Vice President, Software and Automation Development, Kalmar.

Cargotec is on a drive to become a world leader in intelligent cargo handling, and it is increasing its focus on software, services and digital business. The above initiative supports this goal.