Case study

FUTRAM

Challenges in Maritime Transport: Innovation and Governance Models.

The project

Duration: Jan. 2023 – Dec. 2024

The FUTRAM project was launched at the initiative of 5 DEGRES Toulouse to gain a better understanding of the challenges facing international maritime transport, a sector that has shown significant resilience since the coronavirus pandemic. The R&D team is working to synthesize current knowledge on organizational processes in maritime transport governance in order to improve understanding of the sector and provide stakeholders with new insights through innovation.

The research brings together three academic disciplines —management sciences, economics, and geography—around a central theme: the role of disruptive technologies (IoT, blockchain, digital twins, real-time connectivity) in redefining maritime flows and the governance of port and shipping organizations.

The approach combines a quantitative dimension—the analysis of big data on maritime and container traffic—with a qualitative dimension through field interviews with key players in global supply chains.

The result

The research is organized around three complementary areas and has yielded several significant results as early as the first year:

Maritime Digitalization

Empirical Analysis of the Impact of External Factors (“External Drivers”) on the Development of the Shipping Industry — Characterization of the Determinants Influencing the Digitalization of the Maritime Industry.

Consolidation of the sector

Development of a global database of liner shipping companies to measure the impact of M&A in the shipping industry using unsupervised machine learning models.

BRI & Mediterranean Impacts

Study of the Impacts of the New Silk Roads on Mediterranean Trade and Maritime Hubs — Challenges of Decongestion in the Ports of the Southern Mediterranean.

Alliances in the shipping industry help reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, expand geographic coverage, share risks, and enhance competitiveness—all of which require strategic management and close cooperation among stakeholders.

These results are guided by the four key areas of focus of the FUTRAM project: regulation and compliance (IMO, ISPS), logistics and supply chain operations, safety and security, and environment and sustainable development.

METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES

Unsupervised Machine Learning

(Clustering, AI prediction)

Owner Database

(Global Container

Lines DB)

Maritime IoT

Blockchain

(Traceability and

(Customs)

Digital Twins

(Ships and Terminals)

ISPS Code – IMO

(Regulatory Framework)

INDUSTRY PLAYERS

BuyCo

(Shipping platform, Marseille)

GPMM

(Major Seaport

(from Marseille)