Shipping: Agreements on safety and entrepreneurship

Two important agreements concerning the safety of navigation and the support of entrepreneurship in the island area were signed today by the Ministry of Shipping and the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas.

More specifically, in the framework of this planning contract signed by the Minister responsible, Mr Giannis Plakiotakis, and the President of FORTH, Prof. Nektarios Tavernarakis, FORTH undertakes, in cooperation with the Headquarters of the Coast Guard – Greek Coast Guard, the implementation of the project “TALOS – Extreme Weather Monitoring and Forecasting for the Safety of Navigation”.

The TALOS system

As highlighted, maritime safety and the sustainable development of the shipping sector are inextricably linked to weather conditions and increasingly extreme weather at sea, which is a result of climate change. The implementation of the TALOS System allows for the monitoring and forecasting of extreme weather and sea conditions, with the aim of improving the level of navigation safety, enhancing the effectiveness of search and rescue at sea and improving the safety of port facilities, as well as more complete awareness of weather data in the maritime domain.

The TALOS system is an innovative weather monitoring system with advanced techniques and includes a forecasting subsystem consisting of a High Performance Computer (HPC) information system for short and medium term weather forecasting. FORTH is responsible for the supply, installation and operation of the system, as well as the equipment for its interconnection with the services of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy.

Entrepreneurship

At the same time, the Secretary General for Insular Policy and Aegean, Mr Manolis Koutoulakis, and the Director of the PRAXI Network and Head of Finance and Administrative Services of FORTH, Mr. Panagiotis Karniouras, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation, which concerns the design of financial tools and programs at national and regional level – in the framework of the National Strategy for Integrated Maritime Policy in the Island Region, introduced by Law No. 4832/2021. The development of initiatives related to research and innovation and support for knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship in the field of the Blue Economy, Insularity and Shipping is foreseen. The agreement provides, inter alia, for the mapping of the needs of the ecosystem of maritime economy actors in terms of new products, new technologies and services as well as actions to inform and train human resources.

“A decisive step”

On the signing of the cooperation agreements with FORTH, Mε Giannis Plakiotakis said: “With the signing of two important agreements with FORTH, a leading institution today, we are today taking another decisive step for the safety of navigation and the strengthening of entrepreneurship. The TALOS system, comes to meet the increased safety needs of the seas due to climate change, while the Memorandum offers important tools capable of boosting entrepreneurship in island regions and shipping. These are two areas of particular importance, to which the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy gives top priority.”

For his part, the President of FORTH, Prof. Nektarios Tavernarakis, said: “FORTH is a reliable partner of the State in transforming research and the new knowledge it produces into solutions that address persistent and dynamic needs. The TALOS system will leverage the valuable expertise available at FORTH and strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations, as it focuses on activities related to the research directions of different Institutes of the Foundation. These innovative synergies will contribute significantly to the creation of high added value, while the extensive experience of the administrative structures of the Foundation’s Central Directorate provides the guarantees for the effective implementation of this innovative collaboration.”