EU Funds for Maritime Information Systems Project

The EU announces funding for a project to implement a common interoperable Information and Communications Technology (ICT) platform for the maritime logistic chain in Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Germany and Portugal. The project will receive almost €8 million in co-financing from the TEN-T budget until December 2013 and will contribute to the development of TEN-T Priority Project 21 “Motorways of the Sea”.
The objective of the project, which was selected under the 2010 TEN-T Multi-Annual Call, is to design and develop an interoperable ICT platform (the “MIELE Middleware”) able to interface maritime ICT systems (i.e. port community systems and other eMaritime applications) in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Germany (the “National Vertical Pilots”).
The project will also take into consideration the requirements of Directive 2010/65 EU, which prescribes that the ICT systems for ship reporting be interoperable throughout Europe and that each EU Member State has a single interface.
The project will consist of two main phases:
·    During the first phase, the ICT systems of the participating Member States will be analysed and common specifications identified
·    During the second phase, a full-scale, integrated and interoperable demonstrator will be deployed. This demonstrator will be composed of the “MIELE Middleware” and the “National Vertical Pilots”, deployed according to the specifications identified in the first phase of the project
The project is expected to last until the end of 2013.