e-Maritime: A framework for knowledge exchange and development of innovative marine information services

The waterborne sectors in Europe employ more than 3 million people and generate a turnover representing more than 2% of the EU’s GDP. In order to maintain its leadership and competitiveness, Europe must take advantage of new market opportunities and address these challenges by means of focused research, development and innovation. In recent years, advances in information and communication technologies and growth of Earth surveillance capacity have created demand for new forms of maritime information that are increasingly driven by policy and governance addressing safety, security and sustainability. This is reflected in emergence of the IMO e-Navigation strategy and the more embracing European e-Maritime framework as the new themes governing marine information products and services. Such services require innovative integration of knowledge and skills spanning a range of sciences, technologies and information communication fields as well as co-operation across the specialist communities involved. This poses a challenge, namely; how to engage the marine and maritime stakeholder communities and how to enable the interaction needed to create the new high value market products and services. This paper explores the various issues involved and concludes how e-Maritime might offer itself as the enabling framework.