Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services
Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services

Press Releases

International Conference on Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (ICMASS) – Where Research & Development Meets Industry

On October 8 and 9, 2025, the 8th International Conference on Maritime Autonomous Systems and Shipping (ICMASS) will take place in Hamburg, Germany, for the first time. It isbeing jointly organized by the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML and the German Institute of Navigation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ortung und Navigation e.V. DGON). The two-day conference offers a varied program with a wide range of content on research anddevelopment of autonomous vessels. Keynote speakers include Jörg Kaufmann, Director of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), and Lennart Swoboda, Head of Autonomy at Bernhard Schulte GmbH & Co. KG. Over 100 presentations will cover topics ranging from thetechnical and regulatory requirements for operating autonomous ships to the challenges for portsand terminals and for navigation when dealing with other ships and objects in the water. In addition,obstacles to the introduction of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) and cybersecurity requirements will be discussed, as well as the promotion of good (autonomous) seamanship onboard.

Press Release

August 8, 2025

Successful project – deployment of mobile robotics in railoperations

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and the FraunhoferCenter for Maritime Logistics and Services (CML) have successfully concluded the “PinHandling mR” project. The aim of the IHATEC project was to develop a mobile robot toautomate the manual repositioning of pins on container wagons. The innovative solution forrail handling was tested under real-life conditions at HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort(CTT).

Press Release

April 2, 2025

New applications for the maritime industry at the joint Fraunhoferstand

Five Fraunhofer Institutes will be presenting their current researchprojects live at this year's SMM, the world's leading trade fair for the maritime industry, from 3 to 6 September in Hamburg. In Hall B6 at Stand 327, they will be showcasing solutions that supportshipowners, shipyards, ports, logistics service providers and the maritime supply industry in fulfilling their tasks. Fraunhofer research is characterized by individually tailored solutions and practicalbenefits.

Press Release

August 27, 2024

SeaClear: Successful use of robots to collect marine litter

European researchers have developed a functioning team of intelligent robots to clear the seabed of litter. The SeaClear system, which was developed as part of a four-year European research project that ended in December 2023, has successfully passed a series of tests in both clear and murky waters.

SeaClear press release

February 22, 2024

Transition to climate-friendly, flexible, and resilient transportation – New research project AUTOFLEX to introduce small, autonomous, zero-emission inland vessels

The increased use of inland waterway transport is hampered by changes in the cargo structure and fluctuating water levels due to climatic changes. On the other hand, a number of studies have shown that small, autonomous vessels can provide economically and ecologically sustainable new logistics services - even on previously underutilized waterways. The AUTOFLEX project partners want to evaluate and prove the feasibility of a newly designed transport system through tests on a model scale and with the help of a full-scale demonstrator.

AUTOFLEX press release

December 1, 2023

Reinventing VHF maritime traffic: Fintraffic and Fraunhofer CML put AI to work

Together with the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services (CML), the Vessel Traffic Service Center (VTS) Fintraffic has launched a research project in which VHF maritime radio traffic is to be further developed with the help of automatic speech recognition. In the future, a speech recognition system using artificial intelligence will convert and provide radio traffic into text form for Fintraffic's vessel traffic centers - in real time. This will support the correct interpretation of messages, especially in challenging situations.

Press release

April 5, 2023

The research project will analyse data collected from shipboard equipment and systems to accelerate the shipowners’ digitalisation efforts. Marlink, a network solutions company, has signed an agreement with leading research institute Fraunhofer CML (Center for Maritime Logistics and Services) to identify Key Performance Indicator data to accelerate digitalisation and define the Return on Investment (ROI) scenarios for longterm operational efficiency.

Press release 

January 18, 2023