IRIS Europe II Implementation of River Information Services in Europe

Transcription

1 The European Union's TEN-T programme supporting IRIS Europe II Implementation of River Information Services in Europe Part B Activity 1 Publication date (final version): This project is co-funded by the European Commission / DG- MOVE / TEN-T A project implemented by the IRIS Europe II Consortium

2 Implementation of River Information Services in Europe Title of Report Part B Activity 1 Version v1p0 (final) Date of version January 31, 2012 Status Public Consolidating authors via donau Mario Kaufmann Brigitte Hintergräber This project is co-funded by the European Commission / Directorate General for Mobility and Transport within the Trans European Networks Transport programme

3 Document History: Version Comments Date Authorised by v0p1 Initial version of the document via donau v0p2 Draft version with all content via donau v0p3 Draft final version Project Management Team v1p0 Final version IRIS II Project Consortium Responsible for the content: Organisation(s) via donau, Austria DHI SLOVAKIA, s.r.o. VUD, Slovakia ŘVC ČR, Czech Republic VARS BRNO a.s., Czech Republic Rijkswaterstaat, Netherlands VNF, France AFDJ, Romania RSOE, Hungary KIOS, Slovakia CETUS BPI Co. WenZ Author(s) Johannes Nemeth Christoph Plasil Christoph Amlacher Peter Kickinger Martin Misik Peter Zitnansky Jan Bukovský S. Faturik Robert Knap Martijn Faay Peter Stuurman Peter Kluytenaar Laurent Arcelin Camille Cessieux Virginie Taffin Christine Bourbon Romeo Soare Claudiu Dutu Robert Rafael Gergely Mezo Michal Chochula Eric Smets Kuzman Genov Piet Creemers IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 3 of 126

4 Table of Content Abbreviations Activity 1 Pilot implementation of selected Fairway Information Services (FIS) SuAc 1.1 Actual depth data provision to fairway users Background information Objectives Work approach Results Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps SuAc 1.2 Provision of water level information based on water level models Background information Objectives Work approach Results Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps SuAc 1.3 Enhanced Notices to Skippers Background information Objectives Work approach Results Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps SuAc 1.4 Wireless RIS Services for fairway users Background information Objectives Work approach Results Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps SuAc 1.5 Pilot implementation of national Reference Data Management Systems Background information Objectives Work approach Results Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps List of Tables List of Figures IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 4 of 126

5 Abbreviations AC Access controller ADSL Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line AP Access Point DMZ DeMilitarised Zone EAP Extensible Authentication Protocol ECDIS Electronic Chart Display and Information System EDGE Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power ENC Electronic Navigational Card ERDMS European Reference Data Management Service GPRS Global Packet Radio Service GUI Graphical User Interface IENC Inland ENC IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IRIS Europe (II) Implementation of River Information Services in Europe IWT Inland Waterway Transport LEAP Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol LTE Long Term Evolution NtS Notice to Skipper PDA Personal Digital Assistant PEAP Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol PMT Project Management Team QoS Quality of Service RIS River Information Services RWL Reference water level SAP Strategic Action Plan (of IRIS Europe II) SSID Service Set IDentifier SuAc Sub Activity TLS Transport Layer Security TTLS Tunnel Transport Layer Security UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System WiFi Wireless Fidelity - class of wireless local area network (WLAN) devices based on the IEEE standards WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access WLC Wireless LAN Controller WLAN Wireless Local Area Network WLM Water Level Model WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy WPA WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 5 of 126

6 1 Activity 1 Pilot implementation of selected Fairway Information Services (FIS) Fairway Information Services contain geographical, hydrological and administrative data that are used by skippers and fleet managers to plan and monitor a journey. IRIS Europe II has contributed to providing additional services such as up-to-date depth data of fairways within Inland Electronic Navigation Charts (IENC). Furthermore, up-to-date water levels calculated by water level models will contribute to safe navigation. Enhanced Notices to Skippers (NtS) give additional information related to the fairway (e.g. water level prediction). Wireless RIS services will be introduced thus increasing the accessibility and usage of RIS services for the users. 2 SuAc 1.1 Actual depth data provision to fairway users Background information SuAc 1.1 deals with actual depth data provision to fairway users. The provision of up-to date depth data within Inland Electronic Navigational Charts (IENCs) is requested by the fairway users. Today depth data is published in some European countries with different quality and update periods. As depth data within IENCs is also related to safety of navigation, a certain quality and accuracy is needed. Objectives During a pilot project the whole work flow from surveying to publishing shall be investigated and recommendations for the optimisations shall be worked out and tested in pilot areas in several European countries. Consequently to the implementation of such measures in all European countries, depth data will be provided to the fairway users in a shorter time after the surveying, as the processes are optimized. Work approach This activity has been performed in close cooperation with the Inland ECDIS Expert Group (IEEG). As the availability of the actual depth data is a precondition for the calculation of the water levels based on water level models, SuAc 1.1 shall provide the relevant depth data for SuAc 1.2; therefore the expert workshop meetings of the SuAc 1.1 and 1.2 were jointly organised. Results In a first time, each partner has described its own workflow from the survey to the publication of the IENCs. They have also identified the most time consuming steps of it. Then, depending of their needs, they have focused their works on the most important aspect according to them. Some efforts have been made on the survey itself by the equipment of the ships with new material (e.g. multibeam echosounder) but also on the data processing of the survey thanks to some research on alternative generalization methods based on the navigational use. Finally, for some partners, their researches have been made on the production of the IENCs with the automation of the export of the depth information. We can notice a reduction of the time needed to publish the updated IENCs. Moreover, a proposal has been made to the IEEG regarding the min. requirements of the depth information and its display. Conclusions & Recommendations To provide an updated depth information to the user as fast as possible, it is important not to leave out of these key steps (survey, data processing, production of the IENCs). Indeed, the quality of each step has a global impact on the final result of the chart. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 6 of 126

7 Anyhow, after the publication of the cells on their web portal, the authorities have no influence on the installation of the new charts on the ECDIS viewer. The reasons are multiple but can be summarized: the ECDIS Viewer manufacturers provide the new cells to their customers depending on their own update policy, the users have not always the possibility to download them, the users are sometimes not informed by the availability of the new cells. A closer cooperation between the authorities, the manufacturers and the final users has maybe to be considered to identify their needs and the best way to work. 2.1 Background information Requirements SuAc 1.1 deals with actual depth data provision to fairway users. The provision of up-to date depth data within Inland Electronic Navigational Charts (IENCs) is requested by the fairway users. Today depth data is published in some European countries with different quality and update periods. As depth data within IENCs is also related to safety of navigation, a certain quality and accuracy is needed. The provision of actual depth data of inland waterways (fairways), especially free flowing rivers, within IENCs will optimize the use of the waterways and ensure safe navigation. It may support the skippers to load their vessel in such way that an optimal draft for the whole voyage is ensured, but more important is they can benefit from the depth data by optimizing their speed and fuel consumption and thus reduce emissions and their carbon-dioxide. The provision of actual depth data can lead to an optimal use of the fairway. A pre-condition is however that safety margins are taken into account which must not conflict with the responsibility of the authorities for safe navigation Preliminary work The depth information is already present in some IENCs depending on the policy of the different authorities in charge of the navigation but there are no minimum accuracy and update requirements existing in the standard on a European level. The availability of depth information in the IENCs and its consequences have been already discussed and studied at different levels. The IEEG and the Inland ECDIS Harmonization Group (IEHG) have worked on this topic without reaching to an agreement between all the parts involved. Depending on the results of this sub activity, a proposal concerning recommended accuracy and update requirements for depth data was handed over as basis for further discussions to the IEHG Challenges One of the main goals of this 1.1 Sub-Activity is to reach to a proposal of European minimum accuracy requirements. Providing depth information on a European Level is a very big challenge. Each country has its own type of equipments for the surveys and its workflow from the preparation of the survey to the publication of the IENCs. The level of accuracy requested is not the same from one country to another and within a country, depending on the waterway and how it is used by shipping, these requirements are different. Many parameters have to be taken into account (type of bottom, characteristics of the fairway, needs of the users, ) to be able to define the best requirements and balance between the quality of the data available, the time to survey and to produce the IENCs and the benefits for the users. In order to harmonize and optimize the processes and to reduce the time between the survey and the publication of the IENCs, a special focus has to be put on the workflow in order to identify the key steps. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 7 of 126

8 Another goal concerns the publication of the IENCs itself. The interval between the publication of IENCs by the authorities and the cells being available in ECDIS viewers onboard has to be optimized. There are a few issues influencing this interval: Most ECDIS viewers presently only support IENCs in a proprietary format specific to the ECDIS provider selling the ECDIS viewer. Therefore the ECDIS provider has to update the own chart catalogue with the new cells provided by the authorities. The reactivity of the ECDIS providers to do so influences the interval between production and actual use of the IENCs; Fairway users do not always have broadband internet connection available or have to make a lot of costs (e.g. due to roaming). At this moment most fairway users update their IENCs through CD ROMs sent by mail. Therefore presently the possibilities for the user to instantly update the cells onboard when available are limited. 2.2 Objectives Specific objectives To be able to include actual depth information into IENCs four steps have to be taken. Firstly a bathymetric survey has to be carried out. Secondly the recorded data has to be cleaned and processed. Thirdly the surveyed data has to be transformed into a desired projection and exported to the final Inland ENC S-57 format before the charts can be published in the fourth step. With publishing only the provisioning of data on the authority s website is meant. Due to the fact that the updates are provided by the ECDIS providers, there might be an additional delay towards the end-users (onboard applications). During a pilot project the whole work flow from surveying to publishing shall be investigated and recommendations for the optimisations shall be worked out and tested in pilot areas in several European countries. Consequently to the implementation of such measures in all European countries, depth data will be provided to the fairway users in a shorter time after the surveying, as the processes are optimized. It is obvious that depth data produced within IRIS Europe II and/or in previous EU cofinanced RIS-related projects will have to be provided to the fairway users free of charge right from the beginning of IRIS Europe II and during the project. Software manufacturers and private chart distributors and providers will be invited to participate. In order to provide actual depth data to fairway users, it is necessary to include actual depth information into IENCs whereas the following steps are necessary: 1. A bathymetric survey has to be carried out. One of the first decisions is whether to use multi-beam or single-beam echo sounders for surveying depth information. 2. The recorded bathymetric data have to be cleaned and processed due to the high amount of data 3. The surveyed data have to be transformed into a desired projection and exported to the final Inland ENC S-57 format 4. The official IENCs (S-57 format) can be published Also important is that the time between surveying and publishing should be as short as possible, otherwise it may be that the published data is already outdated. This activity has been performed in close cooperation with the Inland ECDIS Expert Group and the SuAc 1.2. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 8 of 126

9 2.2.2 Planned tasks and results Task # Content 1 Pilot stretches definition 2 Inventory of available national IENCs 3 Publish all available IENCs for the national fairways 4 Define European minimum accuracy requirements and update requirements 5 Investigate the work flow 6 Investigate the process for the publication of the IENCs 7 Research possible technical solutions/approaches 8 Cost-benefit analysis for the implementation 9 Specify and implement pilot system 10 Test of the optimized work flow 11 Risk assessment on the provision of depth data 12 System evaluation and recommendations implementation or extend 13 Sub-Activity 1.1 Report Table 2-1: Planned tasks and results Pilot stretches definition The first task shall be to analyse which stretches of the fairway(s) have tangible benefits from actual depth data and define pilot stretches for actual depth data provision to fairway users free of charge for each involved country Inventory of available national IENCs The second task was to elaborate an inventory of available national IENCs by each responsible country. Publish all available IENCs for the national fairways This task consisted for each country involved in this SuAc to make the commitment of publishing all available IENCs for the national fairways (free of charge to fairway users and software companies), respecting the provisions for Milestone 2. Define European minimum accuracy requirements and update requirements The challenge was to define European minimum accuracy requirements and update requirements for actual depth data in close operation with IWT and commercial suppliers of IENC Investigate the work flow Investigated the work flow from surveying, processing, transformation into the final Inland ENC S-57 format and integrating the actual depth data into the available IENCs and define optimised processes based on the identified requirements. Notice: in the Netherlands the work flow within the maritime area will be investigated. Investigate the process for the publication of the IENCs Investigated the process for the publication of the IENCs with the integrated actual depth information and define optimised processes for the publication of the charts (IENCs) based on the identified requirements. Research possible technical solutions/approaches This task was to research possible technical solutions/approaches (e.g. investigate the possibility to equip commercial vessels with measuring equipment) and identify most appropriate technologies or work out recommendations for optimisation or the utilisation of alternative software tools for the implementation of the identified optimised processes. Cost-benefit analysis for the implementation Elaborate a cost-benefit analysis for the implementation of the optimum processes and survey intervals for actual depth data provision for specific waterway sections IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 9 of 126

10 Specify and implement pilot system Specify and implement pilot system providing the optimised processes based on the identified requirements for creation and distribution of actual depth data within IENCs (including installation of necessary equipment and software) Test of the optimized work flow The test will have to be made at least during 6 months, in order to check the optimized work flow for the creation, distribution and utilisation of actual depth data on pilot stretches. Risk assessment on the provision of depth data Elaborate a risk assessment on the provision of depth data regarding the navigational safety on the waterways. System evaluation and recommendations implementation or extend Evaluate the systems and work out recommendations in order to improve interfaces and timing for chart (IENC) update between Authorities and private chart distributors and providers. Furthermore and only for countries effected by maritime navigation, analyse how to provide depth data and in which format in mixed areas (maritime and inland navigation). Below the planned results: According the task Publish all available IENCs for the national fairways and the milestones 2, it should be noted that all partners 1 have published the IENCs of national fairways available for free of charge. Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing of actual depth data Report containing current workflow in the countries and specifying the optimised workflow Investigated processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Report containing current processes in the countries and specifying the optimised process Cost-benefit analysis of the optimum survey intervals of actual depth data for specific waterway sections, considering the results of the risk assessment on the provision of depth data regarding the navigational safety on the waterways (combined with SuAc 1.2) Pilot implementation and operation of depth data provision on pilot stretches, including tests of optimized work flow Amended tasks and results The amendments of the planned tasks and results within this SuAc were very minor. It has been decided to couple the cost-benefit analysis with the CBA of the SuAc 1.2 in order to analyse cost and the benefit of the whole process of providing information on actual water column. The execution of the Task 4: Define European minimum accuracy requirements and update requirements did not lead to the actual definition of a European minimum accuracy and update requirements. It resulted in a proposal for minimum accuracy and update requirements for depth data. This proposal will contribute to discussions of the Inland ECDIS expert group. 1 Test data only for the Netherlands. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 10 of 126

11 2.3 Work approach SuAc partners Country Partner organisation Role within SuAc Responsibility FR VNF SuAc leader AT Via Donau Implementing partner CZ RVCCR Implementing partner RO AFDJ Implementing partner NL RWS Implementing partner SK VUD Implementing partner DE BAW Cooperation partner HU RSOE Observer Work approach Table 2-2: Partners SuAc 1.1 SuAc coordination; national SuAc execution National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot Mainly the SuAc partners did their own investigations on the workflow on a national basis. In the Expert meetings organised in cooperation with SuAc 1.2 the findings where shared. Common work was done on the cost-benefit analysis where a common template was built on the combination of SuAc 1,1 and 1.2. Also common agreement was made on the link between SuAc 1,1 and 1.2. The availability of the actual depth data is a precondition for the provisioning of the water levels based on water level models, SuAc 1.1 shall provide the relevant depth data in IENCs for SuAc Meetings Meeting Duration Date Place SuAc 1.1 Expert Workshop 1 1 day Vienna SuAc 1.1 Expert Workshop 2 1 day Rotterdam SuAc 1.1 Expert Workshop 3 1 day Vienna SuAc 1.1 Expert Workshop 4 2 day Table 2-3: Meetings SuAc 1.1 Karlsruhe This first workshop was an opportunity to make a point about state of progress of the different partner and also to share good practices for bathymetric survey to integrate data in the IENC. Discussions of the second workshop have in particular taken into account the real needs of the fairway user in terms of depth information. The third workshop was an opportunity to make a point on the various methods of integration of depth Information and on the generalization of depth data in the direction of navigation. The workshop also focused on the issues of minimum accuracy and update requirements for depth data. This allowed sharing the results of the Task Force Group for developing min. accuracy requirements for IENCs and recommendations developed by via donau. The last important point on that meeting was the discussion about the Cost-Benefit as proposed by the Netherlands. The goal of the last meeting was to finalize the activities and reach a common view on conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 11 of 126

12 2.4 Results Results Austria The implementation and calibration of new Multi-beam echosounding equipment in Austria for the pilot stretch (free flowing section Wachau) instead of the old Single-beam equipment will lead to an optimal use of the fairway and ensure safe navigation. The pilot stretch is characterized by fast riverbed changes and insufficient fairway conditions, caused by 6 critical areas (shallow water section, fords). Furthermore a new hydrographic acquisition and data processing software was implemented. This new tool with automatic cleaning methods helps to process the large amount of multi beam data and reduces time between data acquisition and provision of depth information within Inland ENCs. The new Multi-beam echo sounding equipment consists of the following components: Figure 1: Multi-beam system configuration on vessel In Austria the surveyed Multi-beam depth data was generated and prepared for the new implemented Water Level Model (SuAc 1.2). So the actual water level information could be considered at the ECDIS viewers. The waterway distance mark has to be encoded within the Depth area IENC-objects. This was done via a new programmed software tool automatically. The following figure illustrates data flow for encoding of the downstream situated waterway distance within the Depth area IENC-objects. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 12 of 126

13 Figure 2: Data flow for encoding (Austria) Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing Investigated processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Cost Benefit Analysis System specification and test documentation Recommendations for improved interfaces and timing for IENC updates Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing of actual depth data Investigated the minimum accuracy and update requirements for depth data and the processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Elaboration of a costbenefit analysis for the implementation of the optimum processes and survey intervals for actual depth data provision for specific waterway sections System specification and test documentation of optimised processes based on the identified requirements for creation and distribution actual depth data within IENCs Recommended accuracy and update requirements for depth data via donau via donau via donau via donau via donau Table 2-4: Documentation of results SuAc 1.1 Austria Finished Finished Finished Finished Finished IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 13 of 126

14 Benefits The new Multi-beam echo sounding equipment has the following advantages: Especially suited for measuring shallow water areas (i.e. river banks, fords) High resolution (i.e. for detecting wrecks) High coverage on the bottom (reduces the vessel movements) Data processing differs significantly for data derived from single-beam (SB) or multi-beam (MB) equipment. The new Multi-beam measurements provide a complete coverage of the river bed with soundings. The results of single-beam measurements are cross profiles and it is necessary to interpolate soundings between the profiles. Hence, multi-beam data are much more reliable and needs less effort for data preparation. For nautical purposes multi beam technology is to be preferred, because it is the best way to determine a highly accurate description of the river bottom. Fairway users, especially fleet operators and skippers, are very much interested in the available water depth. This information is relevant to locate river banks for horizontal navigation purposes. Furthermore the available water depth is an important criterion for the amount of the cargo that can be loaded on the vessels (draught of the vessels) Results (France) The acquisition software to create ENC (SevenCs Tools and Data converter to S-57), and the implementation of a new team organisation in order to start the IENC production is satisfactory. Furthermore elaboration and implementation of quality control (S-58 and control field) is working very well. But the time consuming process the integration of the bathymetry in an IENC is not sufficiently satisfactory yet in terms of available human resource (only 1 person). Other solutions must be tested like: A post bathymetric process in order to clean the sounding data The purchase of a new software that generates the depth areas and the depth contours directly from post-treated data. Documentations Title Content Organisation Status / comment Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing Investigated processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Cost Benefit Analysis Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing of actual depth data Investigated the minimum accuracy and update requirements for depth data and the processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Elaboration of a costbenefit analysis for the implementation of the optimum processes and survey intervals for actual depth data provision for specific VNF VNF VNF Finished Finished Finished IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 14 of 126

15 System specification and test documentation Recommendations for improved interfaces and timing for IENC updates waterway sections System specification and test documentation of optimised processes based on the identified requirements for creation and distribution actual depth data within IENCs Recommended accuracy and update requirements for depth data VNF VNF Table 2-5: Documentation of results SuAc 1.1 France Finished Finished Benefits The organizational set up to produce IENCs is satisfactory: o The collaboration with the field team for the Data collection is very efficient. o The software purchase for the production of IENC gives satisfaction. o The quality control in place is working well. The reflexion on the general organization and the requirements for the bathymetric surveys was very useful in order to recover data of good quality and reduce processing time. On the specific pilot stretches fairway users, are very much interested in the available water depth including on issues of safety and depth of water under the bridge. This information is also relevant to help the optimisation of the navigation in the path curves Results (the Netherlands) The Netherlands investigated the possibilities for providing accurate and up-to-date depth data in Inland ENC. In this investigation several aspects were looked at: User needs; Surveying; Data; generalization methods; Data processing and transformation; Means of distribution; and Cost Benefit Analysis. User needs Primarily it was identified that providing depth data in the Netherlands would in combination with water level data contribute to providing actual depth information to fairway users. Therefore the user needs were elaborated in cohesion with the tasks as part of Sub Activity 1.2. Main conclusion of the user needs study was that on the pilot stretch little or no use was seen in using actual depth information in ECDIS for draught selection. However actual depth information would help fairway users in finding deeper parts in the fairway while navigating. This would contribute to fuel consumption and/or speed optimization. Surveying On the pilot stretch for this sub activity - the Waal from km to surveying is performed fortnightly by the dredging contractor. The contractor has to deliver a full multi-beam survey for the Waal every 14 days to prove that the fairway dimensions are according to the standardized dimensions in the contract. The standardized fairway dimensions for the Waal are 2.80 meters depth and 150 meters width at OLR (Dutch river low water reference level). These fairway dimensions are referred to as the BRV2003 (Dredging Reference Plane determined in 2003). The survey data (point cloud) is received by Rijkswaterstaat from the contractor as well as processed depth data. It was planned to use the available surveys from the dredging contractor in the pilot implementation. Data generalization Including depth data into Inland ENC can lead to large file sizes, because of the volume of the depth data. This combined with the need of the fairway user to use the information about actual depth while IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 15 of 126

16 navigating stresses the need to downsize and tailor the information. The user is probably only interested in the least available depth along the transversal profile of the river. To decrease the update requirements and still deliver usable and reliable depth information, the Netherlands wanted to investigate the possibilities for a smart generalisation method as an alternative to the usual grid approach method. A navigation aware generalisation should distinguish between different draughts/water depths, i.e. smaller water depths may be navigated by vessels with shallower draughts generally having a greater manoeuvrability. This asks for more detail parallel to the river axis. This greater detail may be relevant when for example unloaded vessels want to turn in the river, but also would allow smaller vessels with less draught to use the available width more optimal. Figure 3: Simplified example of smart generalisation The Netherlands performed a market scan to determine if such generalisation methods are available. It proved no such methods exist yet. However we did find possible theoretical approaches which could be investigated in the future. Amongst these approaches are: o The use of a curved and stretched grid, following the curves of the river; o The extension of existing generalization methods like inverse distance weighting with direction sensitivity. Data processing and transformation In the Netherlands separate processes are in place for the publication of Inland ENC charts and Port ENCs for the River Scheldt pilots (not compliant with Inland ENC standard) in the Zeeland region and the publication of Inland ENC charts for other inland waterways like the Waal (pilot stretch). The charts produced in the Zeeland region contain depth information whereas the charts on the pilot stretch currently published do not have depth information incorporated. Therefore the Netherlands decided to further investigate the possibilities for using the existing automated process in the Zeeland region for pilot implementation. It proved that several software changes were needed in order to be able to produce the required objects into the Inland ENCs for the pilot stretch. Changes needed were: o the support for generating depare objects instead of DEPARE objects; o the support for better smoothing of depth contours; o the support for adding a waterway distance (wtwdis) to a depth area; and o the support for cutting depth areas at waterway profiles. These software changes proved to be rather expensive. As also further elaborated on in following paragraphs, the costs did not meet the benefits. Therefore the software changes were not made and pilot implementation was cancelled. Means of distribution The Netherlands has experience with the distribution process of Inland ENCs including depth data to fairway users. Based on this experience the Netherlands analysed the expected impact of depth data being included in Inland ENCs. Commercial ECDIS viewers use a proprietary protected file format (SENC) and are default not capable of loading standardised Inland ENCs (.000 files). Therefore presently Inland ENCs produced by government cannot be directly distributed to the majority of fairway users. Commercial ECDIS suppliers first have to process the updated Inland ENCs into SENCs for their systems, before IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 16 of 126

17 distributing them to fairway users. This process is not optimised at this moment. As the Dutch pilot stretch has a very dynamic bottom with travelling sand dunes Inland ENCs will be updated frequently and it is essential to have new Inland ENCs onboard as soon as possible. With the present dependence on the commercial suppliers of ECDIS viewers with regard to the distribution to the majority of the end-users on board it is highly questionable if it can be guaranteed that end-users avail of the latest information at all times. Documentations Title Content Organisation Status / comment Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing Investigated processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Cost Benefit Analysis System specification and test documentation Recommendations for improved interfaces and timing for IENC updates Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing of actual depth data Investigated the minimum accuracy and update requirements for depth data and the processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Elaboration of a costbenefit analysis for the implementation of the optimum processes and survey intervals for actual depth data provision for specific waterway sections System specification and test documentation of optimised processes based on the identified requirements for creation and distribution actual depth data within IENCs Recommended accuracy and update requirements for depth data RWS RWS RWS RWS RWS Table 2-6: Documentation of results SuAc 1.1 France Finished Finished Finished The Netherlands is not implementing a pilot as part of IRIS Europe II. Finished Benefits The provision of depth data is contributing to information on the actual depth. Depth data in Inland ENC is specified as depth areas with depth values (min, max) with regard to the reference water level. Water level data is provided as a correction value at a certain river distance with regard to the reference water level (OLR for the Dutch pilot stretch) at that distance. Depth areas are connected to a waterway profile through a waterway distance attribute. The ECDIS viewer software combines both data (water level and reference depth) and displays the actual depth. For the pilot stretch within the IRIS Europe II project the implementation of a pilot system for including depth data in the Inland ENCs was not feasible since the costs significantly exceeded the available budget. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 17 of 126

18 The estimated costs are relatively high due to: High investment costs for needed software changes. Without these software changes updates of the depth data cannot be included into the Inland ENCs fast enough. Fast update is necessary on the pilot stretch due to its dynamicity. High production costs. Due to dynamicity of the pilot stretch at least fortnightly updates 2are necessary. Therefore a full production run has to be performed fortnightly. Although the production has a high rate of automation in the software, fortnightly updates cumulate to a lot of work to be executed by the operator of the software. Therefore within the scope of SuAc 1.1 the benefits did not meet the costs needed to be made for providing actual depth data for the pilot stretch Results (Romania) The following activities, divided in two major phases: conception and design and pilot system implementation, have been performed during the SuAc 1.1 of the IRIS 2 project that led to the achievement of the expected results, which have been initially set: A comprehensive evaluation of the current situation in terms of workflow from surveying to publishing of all data related to IENCs production, including actual depth data. This activity focused on identifying the workflow from surveying to publishing of all data related to IENCs building and updating. All the actors involved in the process of building and updating the IENCs have been indentified and documented as well their roles within the process. A comparative analysis of different scenarios for IENCs updates at the national level. The main objective of this activity was to perform a comparative analysis of different possible technical solutions/approaches in order to reach the optimal processes and survey intervals for data provision with respect to IENCs building and updating. The following three scenarios were analyzed: o Maintaining the current system for updating the IENCs, with minimal improvement. o Maintaining the current system for updating the IENCs, and completing it by adding a software application for centralization of data measured in the field. o Maintaining the current system for updating the IENCs, and completing it by adding a software application for centralization of data measured in the field and by adding a procedure to equip commercial vessels with measuring equipment A team of experts involved in the conception and design phase, together with the AFDJ representatives, have decided that solution B would be the optimal for implementation and thus for elaboration of technical requirements and further documentation. A report containing the functional technical requirements for the implementation of the pilot system, the recommendations for implementation and test plan. The purpose of this document was to describe the architecture, data flow, functionality and technical requirements for the pilot system, transmission and central processing of data for generating and publishing the IENCs. Pilot implementation of a software application, for the pilot stretch, capable of transmitting in real time the actual ship-borne processed depths and other related data, which will be archived and used for generating the IENCs. The software application has been implemented for testing the coordinates of the model conceived and, consequently, for improving the processes of data transmission between the actors involved in generating and updating the IENCs. This application allows the data 2 In this report calculations are based on the assumption that an update every fortnight will be enough. In the case the frequency should be higher, the amount of Euros needed will increase. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 18 of 126

19 obtained from field measurements, bathymetric measurements and other information to be transmitted in real time from the measurement ship, or from the computers of field team members, to a central server, where all the information will be indexed and stored for updating the IENCs. The application provides the following interfaces, giving the possibility to insert the surveyed data or data coming from other sources, to offer access to existing data and, as well, to perform data management: o Ship borne client application that can work online/offline and can upload information in the central database when Internet communication is available. The transfer between measurement team and the central database is performed asynchronous. No wait time is necessary to attach another measurement to the communication queue. o Web application for data management - include the functionalities available in the client application and has extended management functionalities for the spatial data infrastructure. Maps and reports are available for the authenticated users and offers access to the actual data. Elaboration of a set of procedures for reducing the time for updating the IENCs and thus optimizing the work flow in terms of IENCs publication. The procedures have the role of improving the efficiency of the processes for creating and updating the IENCs. The procedures are meant to set the roles and responsibilities of all AFDJ representatives involved in these processes. The procedures include: o Good practices to reduce the time allocated for IENCs publishing o Specific workflows for different kinds of data o Data conversion, data generalization, re-projection procedures. o Data quality check Documentations Title Content Organisation Status / comment Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing Investigated processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Cost Benefit Analysis System specification and test documentation Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing of actual depth data Investigated the minimum accuracy and update requirements for depth data and the processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Elaboration of a costbenefit analysis for the implementation of the optimum processes and survey intervals for actual depth data provision for specific waterway sections System specification and test documentation of optimised processes based on the identified requirements for creation and distribution actual AFDJ AFDJ AFDJ AFDJ Finished Finished Finished Finished IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 19 of 126

20 Recommendations for improved interfaces and timing for IENC updates depth data within IENCs Recommended accuracy and update requirements for depth data AFDJ Table 2-7: Documentation of results SuAc 1.1 Romania Finished Benefits The benefits, reached with the implementation of the pilot systems and the elaboration of the set of procedures, are in principal addressed to AFDJ personnel in charge with creating and updating the IENCs, although the benefits are indirectly addressing to the beneficiaries of the IENCs, as well. Among these benefits we mention the following: The successful centralization in the AFDJ spatial data infrastructure of the depth data collected and other additional information The transformation of surveyed data into a desired projection and export to the final Inland ENC S-57 format The capabilities of the software solution chosen, which does not require software updates and modifications on the ship-borne computers and does not influence the real time communication activities The compatibility of the proposed exchange format with the majority of IENC production related software (.dxf) The possibility of rapid evaluation of the information uploaded in the system using graphical reports (map with covered area) and pre-rendered Adobe.pdf files Figure 4: Pilot stretch (Romania) The improvement of expected time between depth data acquisition and the availability of data for IENC generation, which have been confirmed by field tests results The improvement of the IENC production process by implementing a notification system and by gathering, beside the actual data, a set of metadata information (Observations) IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 20 of 126

21 2.4.5 Results (Czech Republic) Whole system was complemented for data acquisition and processing. Figure 5: System setup (Czech Republic) Vessel used for surveying is rebuilt and is able to operate in pilot area including measuring during higher water levels. New diesel generator and on-line UPS were installed to generate and insure stable and sufficient voltage. Used multibeam sonar GeoSwath Plus is a solution which is convenient for Czech pilot stretch. The most important request is fulfilled - to survey in very shallow area with wide swath and accurate outputs. All additional sensors were useful during surveying. We tested all functionalities needed for provision actual depth data. The most crucial item is RADARpilot. Is needed to test this HW with new edition of charts with bathymetry, but there is still not fully functional new SW version, which is now able to receive water level correction files, but not to represent them correctly. Current version of this software is stable and IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 21 of 126

22 easy to use, and from September 2011 with functional internet access via Ethernet connection to router. FME software for data production and maintaining of them is very useful and powerful, and can be used for variety of tasks. Depth areas are produced using software Surfer v.10, which was included to GeoSwath Plus solution. ENC tools by SevenCs are using for production of navigational charts. An update of actual depth areas is quite simple and really fast. Accuracy of measured depth data is about +-5 cm and, in such dynamic environment as flowing water is, it is really great result. Final accuracy of actual depth data in ECDIS charts is about 20 cm (with accuracy of outputs from 2D model and accuracy of correction data included). The whole process is more effective than ever before in our conditions. For survey is needed just one person (excluding vessel crew). The time needed for measuring is 1 km per hour and is the same as time for post processing. Time consuming for whole production chain is as follows (42 km pilot stretch): 5 days for survey 5 days for post processing 2 days for computing mathematical model (without recalibration) 1-3 days for production of charts (depends on changes in source topological data). For surveying 1km is needed to pass through this section for 3 or 4 times. Sonar is able to collect data with swath times actual depth in water which is 2 meters deep it represents up to 30 meters. The swath of sonar is wider, but due to required accuracy it is not possible to include such data to outputs. Sonar is able to collect data with higher speed (9 km per hour is optimum). Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing Investigated processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Cost Benefit Analysis Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing of actual depth data Investigated the minimum accuracy and update requirements for depth data and the processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Elaboration of a costbenefit analysis for the implementation of the optimum processes and survey intervals for actual depth data provision for specific RVCCR RVCCR RVCCR Finished Finished Finished IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 22 of 126

23 System specification and test documentation Recommendations for improved interfaces and timing for IENC updates Benefits waterway sections System specification and test documentation of optimised processes based on the identified requirements for creation and distribution actual depth data within IENCs Recommended accuracy and update requirements for depth data RVCCR RVCCR Table 2-8: Documentation of results SuAc 1.1 Czech Republic Finished Finished Water depths in pilot stretch are very shallow, and it causes limitations for vessels not only in dry seasons. For that reason these data have to be as accurate as possible. In the absence of water depth information, vessel operators would have to apply greater safety margins on both loading and transit timing decisions, both of which are costly to them. Other benefits are: Increased cargo carried per transit Reduced delays Reduced groundings and collisions Improved spill response Improve safety The improvement of the safety can be achieved by: Reduction of risk of grounding; Reduction of risk of bridge collision; and Reduction of risk of ship-to-ship collision. When the skipper has information on actual local depth of the water he can make better decisions on where he can navigate. He will not navigate to areas shallower than the draught of his vessel. When the skipper has information on actual clearance of bridges he can make better decisions on where he can navigate. He will not navigate under a closed bridge with a clearance lower than the height of the vessel. Also information about depth by narrow bridge spans is sufficient and useful, because skipper could choose the optimal way and collision risk with a bridge is reduced. Bridge height related to reference water level is considered available from current Inland ENCs. Improve position of inland shipping w.r.t. other modalities Revenue of skippers can be enlarged by: enlarging the speed of the vessel (closer to the maximum speed of the vessel); and/or enhancing the freight capacity; and/or enlarging the capacity of the waterway. Transport costs can be reduced by enlarging the speed of the vessel (shorter travel time = less personnel costs) and/or by saving fuel. The freight capacity of a vessel can be enhanced by optimizing the draught regarding to the available depth on the vessel s route. The speed of the vessel can be enlarged by optimizing the under keel clearance. More clearance = more speed with same fuel consumption. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 23 of 126

24 The capacity of the waterway can be enlarged by optimizing the use of the fairway width. Due to better information on the lateral position in the navigation channel more ships can navigate in parallel. Fuel can be saved by optimizing the under keel clearance. More clearance = less fuel consumption with same speed. Draught selection can be optimized before departure when actual local depth of water is known. But optimizing draught can reduce the safety on the fairway! The optimization of under keel clearance is contributed to by the provision of actual local depth of water. Under keel clearance can be optimized during navigation when actual local depth of water is known. Usage of the available fairway width can be optimized during navigation when actual local depth of water is known. Improve maintenance of the fairway With the sophisticated 2D hydrological model and accurate depth data, provider of this system obtains support for decision about dredging on the river Elbe. Decisions can be made on whether dredging is necessary during critical low-water periods and after floods. Daily maintenance of the fairway can be optimized with the aid of such data. This system supports dredging decisions; user can analyze dredging and dumping strategies and has source information to compute costs and (relative) benefits of dredging. The concept of a combination of river bed monitoring-data on the one hand with accurate water level and morphological predictions on the other hand seems to be suitable for the specific problems surrounding daily maintenance decisions on the river Elbe fairway and for a designing of new structures. It is a tool for a new approach to maintenance work on free flowing section as a stabilisation of defined level of riverbed, without risk of negative impact on navigation conditions by extensive dredging work with negative influence on long term riverbed stability. Improve design of structures The importance of data support for structure design in relation to the river regime can be considered. The larger the intervention, the more extensive the impact will be on the river hydraulics. The impact will be measurable and can be predicted in the future. Hydraulic responses of the river may include: higher current velocities in the vicinity of the structure increased local sediment transport backwater effects deposition of transported sediments downstream changes in riverbed level deflection of currents to unprotected section of the river. Improve floodplain design and optimizing flood protection Used 2D hydraulic model based on measured data can be also utilized for flood risk model, and designing of flood protection. Great effect can be taken by mitigation of flood damage and saving of human lives. Using these outputs can be improved investments to more effective measures. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 24 of 126

25 2.4.6 Results (Slovakia) Slovakia had limited budget for SuAc 1.1 and focussed on 1.2 hydromodel and tests in SuAc 1.2. So cooperation in SuAc 1.1 was reduced. Documentations Title Content Organisation Status / comment Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing Investigated processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) Investigated workflow from surveying to publishing of actual depth data Investigated the minimum accuracy and update requirements for depth data and the processes for the publication of charts (IENCs) VUD as VUD as Table 2-9: Documentation of results SuAc 1.1 Slovakia Finished Finished IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 25 of 126

26 2.5 Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps General experiences and conclusions Experiences Conclusions For some specific waterways, it is necessary to have at least fortnightly surveys due to the high variations of the bottom. The type of equipment used for the survey operations has an important influence on the time spent to produce the chart with the depth information and its quality. The production of the charts with the depth contours taking into account the waterway profiles used for the WLM is time consuming when performed by manual operation. The transformation of the surveyed data to the IENC format is a key step for the time needed to produce the charts when performed by manual operation. A proposal for minimum accuracy and update requirements for the depth data has been forwarded to the Inland ECDIS expert group. The benefits of providing depth data in Inland ENC are mainly for the users but the costs are for the government so it is important to study where the provisioning of data will justify the costs. Alternative generalization methods based on the navigational uses have been broadly investigated. Optimized export methods to IENC format have been investigated to reduce the amount of work during the production phase. In most countries different organizational entities are involved in the production process of IENCs. A close cooperation between the organizational entities is needed to optimize the production process. The surveying of depth data should not only be focussed on supporting waterway maintenance, but also on the issues of inland shipping in order to be able to provide actual depth data to the fairway users. As part of SuAc 1.2 it was found that the requirements for supplying water level data need to be investigated. One aspect is the distance between waterway profiles which highly depends on the gradient of the waterway. As part of SuAc 1.1 the waterway profiles needed to be included in the IENCs. Also in the production process for the depth data the waterway profiles needed to be accounted for. The depth areas have to be cut at the waterway profiles. More waterway profiles lead to more time needed, especially when performed by manual operation. The depth contours are maybe not the only information that have to be displayed on the chart, in order to provide useful information, also meta information could be very useful (age of the data, type of bottom, last check of the quality) The legal aspect on providing an updated bathymetry of the waterway has to be defined. The ECDIS providers play an important role in the availability of the charts to the fairway users. The reduction of the time needed between the survey and the installation of the chart on the system on board is influence by their reactivity to make it available to their users The users have to be able to instantly install the charts on their viewers, that means a reliable internet connection (WiFi, 3G, etc.). The benefits of providing depth data in Inland ENC are mainly for the users but the costs are for the government so it is important to study where the provisioning of data will justify the costs. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 26 of 126

27 2.5.2 National experiences and conclusions Main conclusions from Austria in SuAc 1.1 Measured and processed depth data provides information about the contour of the river bottom. Especially in a muddy waterway the measured depth very much depends on the frequency that is used by the echo sounder. The new Multi-beam echosounding equipment is very well suitable for the measurement of shallow water sections. The following figures show the acquisition of the same area once with the new and once with an old Multi-beam echosounder. It shows that the coastline area was much better covered with the new one. Figure 6: New Multi-beam echosounder Figure 7: Old Multi- beam echosounder Due to this suitability for shallow water areas the pilot stretch (free flowing section Wachau) could be measured with a full coverage for the first time (at low water levels). Further advantages are high resolution (e.g. for finding wrecks) and the high coverage at the ground (therefore less recording time, because fewer profiles have to be measured). IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 27 of 126

28 Main conclusions from France in SuAc 1.1 Implementation of a new team organisation in order to start the IENC production o implementation of a collaboration between the teams responsible for inland survey and GIS on the pilot stretch area, o Acquisition of software and training software, o Data collection on a huge area (160 km). Elaboration and implementation of quality control, o S-58 and control field. Generation of depth information for the Inland ENC without having the opportunity to order a specific survey o treatment of a survey of poor quality because of lacks and border echoes that leads to a part of interpretation, Reflexion on the general organization and the requirements for the bathymetric surveys Inclusion of depth data in Inland ENCs seems not feasible for France at this moment, because of the high costs of the process for VNF. The human resources needed to include depth data into Inland ENCs, this is much higher effort compared with the benefit for the organization. If the benefit for the fairway users is not negligible, it is not possible to implement in all IENCs. France will be able to purpose that in very particular stretch where the sailing conditions are particularly difficult. (Height under the bridge or dangerous curve) Main conclusions from the Netherlands in SuAc 1.1 The Netherlands studied the user needs regarding depth data on the pilot stretch. The Netherlands found that on the pilot stretch fairway users will use accurate and up-to-date depth data for improving navigation. Fairway users can benefit from the depth data by optimizing their speed and fuel consumption and thus reduce emissions and their carbondioxide footprint as well as an increased safety due to reduction of unexpected bank suction effects. On the Dutch pilot stretch depth data provided through Inland ENCs will generally not be used for draught selection. Draught selection on the Dutch pilot stretch is done based on MGD (least sounded depth) published through internet, teletext and subscriptions. Therefore including depth data in the Inland ENCs does not have added value for the draught selection. Because fairway users are only interested in depth information with respect to navigation, the depth information should be tailored to this need. Therefore we have investigated possible alternative generalisation methods to derive depth contours from survey data. These generalisation methods should optimize the information for use in the navigation direction. These methods do not exist yet, but should be further elaborated. Due to the rather high costs, it was not done in this stage. The Netherlands investigated the distribution chain for Inland ENCs from production to usage on board. Commercial ECDIS viewers use a proprietary protected file format (SENC) and are default not capable of loading standardised Inland ENCs (.000 files). Therefore Inland ENCs produced by government cannot be directly distributed to fairway users. Commercial ECDIS suppliers first have to process the updated Inland ENCs into SENCs for their systems, before distributing them to fairway users. This process is not optimised at this moment. As the Dutch pilot stretch has a very dynamic bottom with travelling sand dunes Inland ENCs will be updated frequently and it is essential to have new Inland ENCs onboard as soon as possible. With the present dependence on the commercial suppliers of ECDIS viewers with regard to the distribution to the majority of the end-users on board it is highly questionable if it can be guaranteed that end-users avail of the latest information at all times. The Netherlands studied the technical feasibility of a pilot implementation on the river Waal. Result of this study was that there were no technical issues providing depth data for the pilot stretch. However costs for implementing a pilot are too high and it was to be expected that a IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 28 of 126

29 large part of the costs would have to be spent again when building a permanent implementation in the Netherlands. Furthermore the dynamics of the bottom of the river Waal require a high update rate (at least fortnightly) to deliver accurate and up-to-date depth data. This leads to high costs and strict requirements on turnaround of the Inland ENC production and distribution. Especially the distribution of the ENCs would require a dramatic change from the way Inland ENCs are distributed at present (as stated before). This resulted in the decision not to implement a pilot in the Netherlands during IRIS Europe II. Main experiences from Romania in SuAc 1.1 Apart from bathymetry, other types of data have been identified as being necessary information for the IENCs updating and taken into account within the implementation of the pilot system. A list of those, for a measurement session, is presented in the following table: Measurement type Bathymetry measurements GPS measurements Topographic measurements Discharge measurements Photos Other specific documents Data type Bathymetric data Profiles Clearance Kilometers Coast signals Buoys Elevation marks Other significant objects Topographic data Discharge data Photos Electronic documents Table 2-10: Measurement type Depth data measurements and field measurement in general represent a complex and repetitive process due to the considerable variations in the water level and the morphology of the riverbed profile for the most part of the Romanian Danube. The approach for the software application to use both online and offline operating modes has led to significant efficiency for introducing measured data. In this way the measurement teams are operating the application irrespective of the connectivity status to central server. One important challenge was to select the best solution for making the data available in an efficient manner using an asynchronous file transfer while not interfering with the running applications on the ship-borne computers. The design for transfer large files over a WAN link represented a challenge as well. The selected solution has been Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) that can be used to transfer (large) files asynchronously between a client and a server. Background transfers are optimal when using this technology due to the usage of idle network bandwidth to transfer the files, and can increase or decrease the rate at which files are transferred based on the amount of idle network bandwidth available. The centralization, besides the depth data, of all types of data necessary for producing and updating the IENCs has proven to be an efficient way to collect and distribute all the necessary information to the actors involved and, consequently, to optimize the processes of producing or updating the IENCs. Conclusions o In order to have consistent IENCs, repetitive measurement sessions have to be performed on certain stretches of the Romanian part of the Danube. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 29 of 126

30 o o o o The implementation of the pilot software application and the elaboration of the working procedures have significantly organized the activities for producing and updating the IENCs and thus reduced the time for field measured data to be available in a central point from where all the actors involved can rapidly access it. Due to the dynamicity in the riverbed morphology, the consistency of the published IENCs is directly related with the frequency of measurement sessions. With the pilot implementation and the set of procedures elaborated the measurement sessions have become easier to be organized and consequently a higher frequency could be achieved. The possibility for the measurement team members to remotely access the historical data (e.g. previous measurements, previous IENCs versions, etc.) using the pilot system is of high benefit in terms of efficiency of the measurement sessions. The system implemented and the set of procedures elaborated should be extended from the pilot stage to cover the measurement activities in different stretches as well. Main experiences and conclusions from Czech Republic in SuAc 1.1 are There are some operational problems with a vessel. Some parts which were not renewed are generating failures of navigating ability and have to be time to time fixed. For a future, there should be better to complete reconstruction or to purchase a new boat. We are very satisfied with GPS solution from Trimble model SPS 361, which allows us to use two GPS antenna to provide position with real time RTK correction and also heading data. There are fewer problems with this technology than we expected. We propose that in very narrow valley there will be hard to connect to obtain correction data. One thing which disturbed us a little bit was a hydrological condition during this summer. Spring and a bigger part of summer was quite dry, and the first pilot survey was dangerous due possibility to hit some rocks with sonar or vessel. But the second survey was really better, because we had output from the first run and we was able to navigate vessel safely. GeoSwath Plus software was sometime unstable, but it was not critical and developer used our requirements in new version of software. In present days we will check this upgrade. The main requirement implemented was in a case of Trimble specific format of NMEA sentence, which is included in a new version now. Survey with GeoSwath Plus is very productive. We are able to measure around 8 km of a river per a day. For precise outputs is very important to make more than 100% overlaps of swaths. We learned that measurement of sound velocity profile is very important mainly around junctions, where are two flows of different quality mixed. Accuracy of measured data meets our requirements and we have the first success in detection of small wreck in a anchorage area. This project is a big step in producing bathymetry data for our country. Usage of this new technology is highly watched, and a lot of subjects is interested in this new datasets. This data are very important not only for navigation, but also for designing of new structures, maintaining navigation channel, mitigation of flood damages and hydraulical modelling. Using for navigation is very useful. We noted it during the second survey, when captain was calmer and he was able to use wider part of a channel General recommendations Generalisation methods for optimizing depth information for navigation usage (in navigation direction) should be further investigated on a European level in close cooperation with the Inland ECDIS expert group. It is recommended to execute regular verification soundings to identify changes in depth. Based on the results of these measurements a new survey can be proposed. If not, a update IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 30 of 126

31 of the metadata of the corresponding cells could be done to inform the user that the information have been checked and are still valid. It should be investigated whether meta data (e.g. age, validity, etc. of depth data) display is useful for fairway users. Discussion on this topic is ongoing in the IEHG and the question was which data is important. The age of the depth data alone is not sufficient. A proposal will be made at the next IEHG meeting in October. Supplying depth data through IENC should be borderless. The data should be supplied for a whole corridor/river and not for parts within a country. Also the data should be supplied uniformly regarding scope and quality. Distribution of IENCs shall be centralised in Europe and not entirely depend on commercial ECDIS suppliers (see also the relevant reports that have been produced by PLATINA). Therefore an agreement on a centralised distribution of IENCs should be made in close cooperation with the Inland ECDIS expert group and commercial ECDIS suppliers. Especially turnaround time is important for the depth data to be accurate and up-to-date. Minimum quality and minimum requirements of information and the frequency of the updates should be guaranteed in the distribution chain of IENCs. Cost-Benefit analysis should be performed before the implementation of depth data provisioning in order to justify the costs to be made. The user needs are key when determining benefits. Risks identified in the risk assessment performed should be mitigated. See Annex National recommendations Austria has following recommendations It is recommended to use multi beam technology at least in navigation critical areas to ensure reliable and exact geological model of the river bed with accurate depth data along the whole waterway (especially inside the navigable fairway). Depth data shall be also available for the approach areas to berths/ports and at the berth itself. Romania has following recommendations Evaluate the opportunity to generate on the fly, ready to use (by the IENC generating software) depth data and contour lines, signals, buoys, etc; Extend the number of feature attributes for the collected data in order to improve the time required to integrate the information into IENC maps according to S57 standard. The database can act as a spatial data infrastructure for AFDJ. Improve the communication with other public administration agencies in order to enhance the quality of the geographical data presented in IENCs (e.g. recent aerial images in case of emergency, National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration). Develop a set of quality check rules and indicators for depth data integrated with a messaging system in order to quickly notify the involved factors. Prepare a special procedure for emergency situations: high priority for updates and automated export of the data in the format required by the IENC production software. Czech Republic has following recommendations Outputs of our surveys are needed in all navigation channel and reservoirs in our country, because we recognize, that old measurements are not as accurate as we assumed. This means, that there is more than one vessel with this technology needed. This boat should be smaller and there have to be possibility to transport this boat by truck. For current vessel, there could be fine to improve mobility when manoeuvring in the lock chambers, ports and during the higher water levels by installing the propeller at the front side. Very useful can be IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 31 of 126

32 also using of laser scanning of surrounding terrain simultaneously. This can supplement to measure whole channel also in a dry season, and whole model of terrain can be used for 2D modeling of flood events. More tests of survey technology (different discharges, water levels, speeds, etc.) an of receiving correction data using Inland ECDIS viewers and accuracy of depth information presented in IENC charts is needed. Centralized distribution of charts in the same way as WLM files. One dedicated server (with web access), where can be downloaded all actual Inland ECDIS charts. Improve functionality of web pages serving WLM files. There can be done some improvements of user interface such as: search functions (query); sort files; select files; multiple download; send via . These functionalities would be useful for downloading old files for testing accuracy of data. Harmonization of depth data on a state border. Harmonization of depth data is very important point especially on state border, where two producers of Inland ECDIS charts can have different outputs. Water level measurement is needed to check possibility to measure water level during survey using installed technology. It is very important input for calibration of mathematical model. Analyze usage of velocity information for better navigation Velocity is one of main variables involving navigation in flowing water. It contains two representations: value and vector. To serve it to users represents quite difficult task. Values and orientations of vector varies in cross and longitude profile. But this output of 2D model can be very important for navigation due to improving safety and fuel consumption Envisioned next steps Austria France To make the process of generating depth information for the Inland ENCs more comfortable it is planned to replace the old processing software. A new workflow will be investigated for an easier integration of the depth data according Water Level Model into the official Inland ENCs. Furthermore the Inland ENC standardisation process for bathymetric ENCs (bencs) has to be supported at International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). bencs can be seen as additional layers containing high density depth information. In Austria the new depth data are included within the official Inland ENCs. The reason is that bencs are not standardised within the Inland ECDIS Standard yet. The bencs will reduce a lot of working time if the concept is standardised. Inclusion of depth data in Inland ENCs seems not feasible for France at this moment. Because of the hight cost of the process for VNF. The human resource needed to include depth data into Inland ENCs, is to much highter compare with the benefit for the organization. If the benefit for the fairway users is not negligible, it is not possible to implemented in all IENCs. France will be able to purpose that in very particular stretch where the sailing conditions are particularly difficult. (Height under the bridge or dangerous curve) The Netherlands The performed Cost Benefit Analysis in the Netherlands showed a rather high estimate of costs for implementing the provisioning of depth data in Inland ENC while benefits are primarily to the fairway users. Therefore the Netherlands decided not to pilot implement the IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 32 of 126

33 Romania production process. It is not to be expected that this decision will be changed in the near future. Taking into account the experience gain with the concept, definition and implementation of the pilot system, AFDJ intend to make further steps towards an improvement of IENCs provision to fairway users, which include the following: o The extension of the pilot system and procedures to be used when performing measurements in different stretches of the Danube as well. o Evaluate the use of historical data in order to determinate critical areas and prepare response procedures; o Investigate other opportunities for IENCs dissemination; o Investigate possibilities to receive feedback from IENCs users; o Evaluate the opportunity of using XML like language to exchange IENC S57 compatible information with partner agencies. o o o Czech Republic Evaluate the legal aspects in the national legislation regarding the access to data; Re-evaluate the data types necessary for the production and update of IENCs and increase the data set supported by the pilot system with the new identified data types, if applicable. Perform analysis on the integration of the application with the onboard measuring equipment to continue with testing new technologies to improve accuracy and processes to continue with analyzing output data to declare their credibility to start discussions about possibility to reduce margins and provide changes in legislative IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 33 of 126

34 3 SuAc 1.2 Provision of water level information based on water level models Background information As depth data within IENCs is related to a reference water level (RWL), e.g. low water level, the actual water depth can only be displayed in Inland ECDIS viewers if water level date is available. Using data from gauge station only provides satisfying results in the vicinity of these stations as actual water levels are in general not parallel to the reference water level. Objectives In order to get reliable and accurate information about the available water column along the fairway the water levels, respectively the delta to the RWL, need to be accurately calculated and provided to the vessel users. The objective of this SuAc were to implement such water level models for the defined pilot stretches and to build up a service infrastructure to provide this data to the users onboard. Work approach As a fists step of this activity the pilot stretches in the participating countries were defined and documented. The following design and implementation included water level models, the service provision infrastructure and the Inland ECDIS integration. During the course of this sub-activity it was decided to separate between national and common activities. The water level model implementation was a national activity performed by the participating member states. The implementation of the service provision infrastructure and the Inland ECDIS integration were a common activity coordinated by the SuAc leader via donau. The pilot implementations and the related test and evaluation activities were carried out by all participants. Results Water level models have successfully been implemented in six of the seven countries involved in the sub-activity. The know-how build up during this task will be the basis for further investigations and improvements of the modelling. For the distribution of the data a webservice was implemented. The implementation was done as a common activity as during the design phase it was decided that one central access point for the water level data is desired. The Inland ECDIS integration was successfully finished with including the three main industry partners in this activity. The Inland ECDIS viewer prototypes as well as the modelling and service provision infrastructure were tested successfully in the national pilot implementations in the different countries. Conclusions & Recommendations The initial concept was implemented and tested successfully during this sub-activity. The provision of water level data based on water level models showed the benefits of such a service, by providing the available fairway width and showing shallow and deep areas. This helps the ship users to optimize the fairway use leading to an optimization of fuel consumption and/or speed. Modeling has shown to be a complex task and further investigations are needed to improve results. Water level models should, due to the complexity, primarily be implemented at critical sections. Actual depth data in ENCs is a prerequisite for the service and organizational and as well topographical/morpohological factors influence the provision of such data. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 34 of 126

35 3.1 Background information Requirements Depth data within IENCs is related to a reference water level (RWL), e.g. low water level. The water level is however changing over time, which results in differences between the real situation and the information contained in the IENCs. Together with up-to-date gauge information the depth data of the IENCs can displayed as the actual water column. This correction is however only valid in the vicinity of the gauges. For the river sections between the gauges the actual water level is in general not parallel to the reference water level due to the varying width of the cross sections, side branches, dams, and other topographic influences. Hence a sophisticated modelling of the water levels between gauges is required. In order to get reliable and accurate information about the available water column along the fairway the water levels, respectively the delta to the RWL, need to be provided to the vessel users Preliminary work The modelling of water levels for onboard use as a support to navigation is a new approach. The water level information should be provided to the end users onboard in an at international level agreed data format to ensure a common approach to this topic. The Inland ENC Harmonization Group (IEHG) worked out a proposal of a data format, which has to be utilized for this activity. Knowledge on water level modelling exists in many countries as modelling is used for flood prediction and management or for water management in general. Another prerequisite for an operational service is the availability of IENCs with depth data. The availability of depth data varies between countries. SuAc 1.1 of IRIS Europe II deals with this topic and hence a close cooperation between these two SuAcs was initiated Challenges The existing infrastructure and data (e.g. gauge network, survey data & procedures) were in many cases not sufficient for the modelling approach planned under this activity. Based on the design of the water level modelling approach the gap was identified and closed. In addition the necessary expertise needed for the modelling was not always available in the participating organizations. Hence each country had to set up the organizational framework for this activity which in many cases required extensive preparation work. The implementation of the service provision infrastructure was a specific challenge as it was decided to do a centralized approach. The data collection and distribution should be handled at a central server. This required a specific design to handle the data from the different data providers. In addition the Inland ECDIS integration was as well managed centralized. Both activities resulted into an extensive consultation process with the participants and industry partners to agree on a solution that meets the specific requirements of each partner. 3.2 Objectives Specific objectives Up to now within IENCs depth information is referred to a reference water level. With the transmission of up-to-date gauge information the water depth information can be corrected to the actual value in the vicinity of the gauge. By using highly sophisticated water level models the actual height of the water surface for each section of the fairway can be (precisely) calculated. With this information it is possible to correct the depth information contained in the IENCs to display the actual water depth. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 35 of 126

36 The water level information has to be provided to the end users onboard in an on European level standardised data format. The Inland ENC Harmonization Group (IEHG) worked out an agreed proposal of a data format, which has to be utilized for this activity. Within Sub-Activity 1.2 pilots have to be set up to implement and test the generation, service provision to the users and the quality of the water level models. It is obvious that water level information produced within IRIS Europe II will have to be provided to the fairway users free of charge at the earliest convenience. Software manufacturers and private chart distributors and providers have to be invited to participate. This activity is performed in close cooperation with the Inland ECDIS Expert Group. Pilot Stretches per country, all other countries will be invited to participate as observers: Austria: Free flowing river stretch of the Austrian Danube in the area of Wachau Bulgaria: The stretch from river km 515 to km 545 of the Danube river Czech Republic: Free-flowing stretch of the Elbe (Labe) between Usti nad Labem Střekov and the national border with Germany France: Canalized Moselle river from Apach to Neuves Maisons Netherlands: River Waal (the exact stretch will be determined during the project) Romania: Downstream the Iron Gates, sector Timok Calafat (also pilot area for calibration of the parameters for the fairway IENCs) Slovakia: From the Austrian border to Bratislava Planned tasks and results Planned tasks: Select a specific section of the waterway in each participating country where the water level model shall be pilot implemented Evaluate the needs of the fairway users, the practical feasibility and potential technologies for the implementation of water level models and integration of water level information into Inland ECDIS and execute a cost benefit analysis Evaluate different data transmission methods between the shore and ship applications Construct suitable water level models or, if required, modify existing water level models (investigate the possibilities to transform existing water level models and graphs into a computerised model) for the specified pilot stretches Specify, implement, test, operate and evaluate pilot systems for the provision of water level information in the standardized water level exchange format defined by the Inland ENC Harmonisation Group based on the water level models of the defined pilot stretches in the participating countries Integrate water level information based on the water level models into Inland ENCs and provide and maintain all available Inland ENC to fairway users and software companies free of charge (the related authorities provide the water level information free of charge to the users and software companies, but the users have to buy the latest viewers in order to be able to display the water level information and other additional information within the appropriate programmes, e.g. ECIDS viewers) o Addition France: France focus on this task mainly whereas the precondition is that the pilot stretch is covered by the adequate infrastructure Execute dedicated tests (e.g. by means of surveys) in order to check the pilot system behaviour and the accuracy (shall be indicated to the end users) of the water level models in different scenarios. Evaluate the data output of the water level models by comparison with data obtained from the surveys IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 36 of 126

37 Set up risk assessment, in connection with safety on the waterways by the provision of water levels (fairway depth) Work out recommendations for improving the accuracy of the water level models and possible next steps for the general provision of water level information based on water level models Elaborate SuAc 1.2 report describing the work that was done and the achieved results Addition for France: Include as well information about available free heights under sensitive bridges ECDIS map modelling of the Moselle Addition for Romania: ECDIS map modelling of the Danube stretch between Timok till Calafat Assessment of the available communication supports (website, AIS network) Addition Slovakia: Planned results: The extent of work executed in this Sub-activity will be aligned with the available budget. Definition of approved pilot stretches for water level provision to fairway users free of charge Pilot implementation and operation of specified system for water level provisions on pilot stretches, and integration into Inland ECDIS charts free of charge for fairway users, including tests of the water level models in different scenarios Evaluation of the water level models by comparison with survey data Recommendations for improvement of the accuracy of the water level models, considering the results of risk assessment in connection with safety on waterways by providing water levels Documented results Amended tasks and results France changed the pilot area to the river Deûle from Lock of Don to Lock of Grand Carré. The project was originally intended to use a 1D hydraulic model (Mike 11) used for the analysis of the impact of major projects. Profiles every 100 m were included in the model and dams were modeled with their management law. However the operation of the locks could not be modeled as in the case of the pilot stretch involved locks operations influence the water levels. It was therefore decided to implement a simple model that take into account the influence of locks operations. In addition, the other participants refined the definition of the pilot stretch: Austria: Free flowing river stretch of the Austrian Danube in the area of Wachau from Melk (rkm 2038) to Krems (rkm 1998); Bulgaria: The stretch from river km 515 to km 545 of the Danube river; Czech Republic: Free-flowing stretch of the Elbe (Labe) between Usti nad Labem Střekov (rkm 767) and the national border with Germany (rkm 730); France: River Deûle from Lock of Don (rkm 29.6) to Lock of Grand Carré (rkm 56.7); Netherlands: River Waal from Spijk (rkm 857.7) to Woudrichem (rkm 952.5); Romania: Downstream the Iron Gates, sector Timok (rkm 845) Calafat (rkm 790) (also pilot area for calibration of the parameters for the fairway IENCs) Slovakia: From the Devin castle (rkm ) to the Apollo bridge (1867.3). IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 37 of 126

38 Bulgaria decided to not implement a water level model due to budget limitations. The water level model will be implemented in the BulRIS project instead. 3.3 Work approach SuAc partners Country Partner organisation Role within SuAc Responsibility AT via donau SuAc leader and implementing partner BG BPI Co. Implementing partner CZ RVCCR Implementing partner FR VNF Implementing partner NL RWS Implementing partner RO AFDJ Implementing partner SK VUD Implementing partner HU RSOE Observer Follow activities DE MoT Cooperation Partner Follow activities Work approach Table 3-1: Partners SuAc 1.2 SuAc coordination; national SuAc execution; WLM implementation; web service implementation National SuAc execution; implementation of WLM; connection to web service National SuAc execution; implementation of WLM; connection to web service National SuAc execution; implementation of WLM; connection to web service National SuAc execution; implementation of WLM; connection to web service National SuAc execution; implementation of WLM; connection to web service National SuAc execution; implementation of WLM; connection to web service In the first expert meetings in this SuAc the approach was discussed together with ECDIS manufacturers. It was decided that only a common approach for the implementation of the water level data provision makes sense and that the data should be provided by a central server. Also the ECDIS integration should be a common effort. Hence the activities were split into national activities and common activities (coordinated by the SuAc Leader). The tasks were split into three sub-tasks: Water level model generation (national activity) Water level data service provision (common activity) Water level data usage onboard (common activity) Water level model generation The water level model generation was a national activity. Each participating country had to implement a water level model suitable for the national pilot stretch. The modelling approach was influenced by local conditions and existing infrastructure available. The national activities also included the testing of the water level model implementation on the national pilot stretch. Water level data service provision IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 38 of 126

39 The national RIS providers on land shall transmit the results of the water level modelling to the onboard applications in a standardised way. A centralized webservice was implemented by via donau to handle these data files by collecting them, storing them, and providing them to the Inland ECDIS viewers of the fairway users on request. Water level data usage onboard The water level corrections shall be received by the users in a standardised format from the webservice. Therefore the Inland ECDIS viewer shall be able to decode this information and integrate the correction values in order to display the actual water column. The actual water column information will improve the benefits of using Inland ECDIS onboard by visualising the actual water column and hence reducing the risk of ground contact significantly. For the purpose of the pilot, upgrades to Inland ECDIS viewers were implemented based on the specifications of the IRIS Europe II team. These ECDIS viewer prototypes have been tested on the national pilot stretches of the different countries Meetings Due to the commonalities with SuAc 1.1 the Expert Meetings were held as joint meetings between SuAc 1.1 and st Subactivity 1.1 and 1.2 Expert Meeting (January , 2010) Discussion of the Implementation Plan Technical Presentations and know-how exchange Expert Meeting in Lelystad (February 9, 2010) Know-how exchange specifically on the topic of water level modelling 2 nd Subactivity 1.1 and 1.2 Expert Meeting (June 16, 2010) Detailed discussion on modelling approaches Discussions on distribution of water level model data and integration into ECDIS viewer Decision on splitting of tasks into national (water level model) and common activities (service provision and ECDIS integration). First discussions on the framework for a cost-benefit analysis 3 rd Subactivity 1.1 and 1.2 Expert Meeting (January 18, 2011) Implementation update Detailed discussion on modelling approaches 4 th Subactivity 1.1 and 1.2 Expert Meeting (September 6-7, 2011) Implementation update Presentation of results Discussions on conclusions, lessons learned and recommendations Discussions on cost-benefit analysis IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 39 of 126

40 3.4 Results Austria For the Austrian pilot stretch located on the river Danube between rkm 2038 and rkm 1998 a water level model has been implemented and tested within this SuAc. The implementation work started with a detailed documentation of the pilot stretch. Taking into account existing infrastructure and local circumstances the Water level model and the related service infrastructure were designed and implemented. Figure 8: Water level model- Overall service architecture Water level model generation: The source data for the modelling included geometric data and flow information. The geometric data included river bed measurements and terrestrial surveying data. The interval of the processed cross sections is 200m which resulted in 200 profiles for the 40km pilot stretch. The flow data included: Water levels: Discharge data: 8 gauge stations, pressure and bubble level sensor 2 gauge stations; one direct from the hydro power plant Melk; one indirect stage discharge curve (relation water level and discharge) via periodic ADCP and hydrometric propeller measurements; The water level model is a 1D steady state numeric model and the software used is called HEC-RAS (US Army Corps of Engineers/USA/Version 4.1.0). The output of the modelling is a matrix with precomputed water levels at different flow rates between low-water level and high-water level. Water level data service provision: The conversion software has been especially developed for the IRIS Europe II project and is a comprehensive system which combines the hydrological data management system, the output of the modelling, and additional programs (calculations, quality checks, plausibility checks, ), generates the output file in XML-format and organises the data transfer to the webservice. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 40 of 126

41 via donau was also implementing the webservice, a common activity in SuAc 1.2. The task of the webservice is to collect the XML files from the different countries and distribute the relevant water level files based on requests received via the Web interface (e.g. requests received from Inland ECDIS viewer applications). The Inland ECDIS viewers onboard the vessels send a request to the Webservice containing the actual location of the vessel, or information on a specific river section of interest (manually selected), and the time of the request. The Webservice checks if a XML file is available for the requested geographical area and if it is also valid (validity period). If a suitable file is available the Webservice sends a response containing the water level file. Water level data usage onboard: via donau coordinated the upgrade of the Inland ECDIS viewers to display water level model information. The technical specifications for this upgrade were elaborated under supervision of via donau and the upgrade was initiated. Test and Evaluation: The full implementation consisting of water level modelling, transfer to webservice, XML-file distribution by the webservice, and onboard use on the upgraded ECDIS viewers were successfully tested on the Austrian pilot stretch in August and September The test showed, that the accuracy of the output data is especially in the range between low navigation level and mean water level in the band of the guidelines (+/-10cm). For the more ineffective higher water level and rapid changing discharge there is a refinement recommended. Figure 9: Display of Water level information onboard The figure above shows an example of the visualization of the water level model data onboard. Users are informed on the available water depth and the colouring of the depth contours in the charts is adapted to show the safe areas for travel of the fairway. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 41 of 126

42 Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Detailed information on approved pilot stretches Water Level Model - System specification and test documentation for via donau - AUSTRIA Specification of the Water Level Information Inland ECDIS interface IRIS Europe II Webservice for Water Level Model Data IRIS Europe II Webservice for Water Level ModelData Documentation IRIS Europe II Webservice for Water Level ModelData User Documentation Water Level Model - Evaluation of data and service provision quality for AUSTRIA Description of Austrian pilot stretch Technical description of the water level model implemented in Austria Specifications for the Inland ECDIS integration of water level model data Specifications of the Webservice for the collection and distribution of water level model data Documentation of the Webservice for the collection and distribution of water level model data User Documentation of the Webservice for the collection and distribution of water level model data Evaluation of data and service provision quality of the Austrian implementation SuAc 1.2 Participants (Lead: via donau) via donau via donau, Inputs by SuAc 1.2 Participants via donau, Inputs by SuAc 1.2 Participants MiT (contractor), via donau MiT (contractor), via donau via donau Table 3-2: Documentation of results SuAc 1.2 Austria Common deliverable Common deliverable Common deliverable Common deliverable Common deliverable Benefits The implemented water level model pilot in Austria will allow ship users to receive actual water level information for the critical river section in the Wachau. This allows users to display the actual water depth based on the depth information contained in the ENCs and the water level model information. Users can then display in the ECDIS viewer the actual fairway width and shallow areas which shall help them to optimize the fairway use and reduce the risk of grounding. The optimized use of the fairways also helps to reduce fuel consumption and as a consequence a reduction of CO 2 emissions. The water level model service was designed to function fully automatically without active interaction of the users. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 42 of 126

43 3.4.2 Results (Bulgaria) In Bulgaria the water level model for the pilot stretch located on the river Danube between rkm and rkm was developed. The implementation work started with a detailed documentation of the pilot stretch. Until the IRIS Europe II project, Bulgaria had no water level model of the Danube or parts of it. Within the SuAc 1.2 the main measures to create the first model of the water level in the selected pilot area were developed and introduced. System architecture for the water level model provision service on the basis of pre-existing services were designed and implemented. Described below are the links between them and the new system components. Figure 10: Architecture of the water level model (Bulgaria) Water level model generation: The source data for the modelling includes topo-bathimetric data and flow information. A digital terrain model (DTM) was developed specifically for the task in SuAc 1.2, based on previous measurements in the period on the 30 km pilot area. Average distance between profiles is 100 m. The software Land Desktop 3.0 by Autodesk is used. The model is in the UTM-35 and the Baltic altitude system with Kronshtad pegel. The flow data includes: Water levels: Discharge data: 2 Hydro meteorological Stations, with stationary metal pegel. Only station Ruse has automatic gauge but it does not work properly at the moment. 2 measurement stations; indirect stage discharge curve (relation water level and discharge) via hydrometric measurements, published by Danube commission. A 1D steady state numeric model by HEC-RAS software module (US Army Corps of Engineers/USA/Version 4.1.0) was developed at low and high waters for the Bulgarian pilot section of Danube. Water level data service provision: Within IRIS Europe II project XML files were generated according to Annex 1- Standardized water level exchange format for Inland ENCs. The files are uploaded on the central water level information server operated by via donau (DoRIS). IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 43 of 126

44 Water level data usage: BPI Co. displays water level model information with Tresco Inland ECDIS viewer All the technical specifications, observations and recommendations, derived from IRIS Europe II project will be implemented in the second phase of BulRIS project. Test and Evaluation: The full implementation, testing and evaluation are forthcoming. The results will be implemented by BulRIS project. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Detailed information on approved pilot stretches Water Level Model - System specification and test documentation for the Bulgaria Water Level Model - Evaluation of data and service provision quality for Bulgaria Water Level Model Recommendations for service improvement and extension Description of Bulgarian pilot section System specification; Design and functional specifications of a Bulgarian water level system; DTM, hydro data base and XLM generating; Implementation of the WLM and testing Evaluation of data and service provision quality of the Bulgarian implementation Recommendations for the next phase of the BulRIS project BPI Co. BPI Co. BPI Co. BPI Co. Table 3-3: Documentation of results SuAc 1.2 Bulgaria delivered and accepted in progress in progress in progress Benefits The main benefits for at the end of the SuAc 1.2 are: Creation, implementation and testing of the first water level model in the Bulgarian Danube; Implementation of new hardware and software special features in Inland ECDIS area; Development of new innovative system for water level modeling; Increasing the safety of navigation in this extremely difficult region - the pilot area between rkm to rkm 545,000; Recommendations for service improvement and extension of the water level model for the whole Bulgarian section of the Danube in the forthcoming phase II of BulRIS project. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 44 of 126

45 3.4.3 Results (Czech Republic) Two-dimensional mathematical model of unsteady flow MIKE 21C (developed by the firm DHI Water Environment & Health, Hørsholm, Denmark) has been used as WLM. Such a kind of mathematical model describes the pilot area in horizontal computational grid with resolution ca 2 to 10 m (along the river axis and in transversal direction, as well). Water level model is used off-line for determination of flow characteristics, namely water levels and water depths within navigation discharges range which is given by control water gauge in Usti nad Labem gauging station. Basic simulation result of verified 2D numerical model is set of pre-calculated results for 8 hydrological scenarios (for chosen gauge heights in control gauging stations). Polynomial interpolation in result database is used for calculation of water level in selected cross sections (à 100 m) at actual (basically at any) discharge within navigation discharges range. Water level correction values, i.e. difference values between actual values and reference values in given cross sections (in XML message format) are transmitted to skippers. Tests and evaluation: Calibration simulations (steady non-uniform flow) have been carried out for discharges in range from 94 to 300 m 3 s -1. Calculated water levels matched well with observed longitudinal water level profiles. Average deviation of calculated water levels from observed ones has been within interval from 2 to 10 cm in the whole longitudinal profile and for all evaluated calibration and validation scenarios. Accuracy of used WLM (2D mathematical model) is relatively high and it is affected by following inaccuracies: inaccuracy of mathematical model calibration... ca up to 10 cm accuracy of 2D mathematical model itself, i.e. accuracy of computational schema, interpretation of data into model files, etc.... ca better than 5 cm Accuracy of interpolation function (among pre-calculated results for 8 hydrological scenarios) has been tested in two specific tests: 1. comparison of interpolated and calculated (by MIKE 21C) water levels 2. comparison of interpolated and geodetic measured water levels in whole longitudinal profile for calibration events Average deviation of interpolated water levels from calculated has been 7 cm; the maximum deviation has been 10 cm. Differences between interpolated and really measured water levels have been in range up to 10 cm (max. 15 cm), as model calibration results. Moreover, inaccuracy of water depth data (from measurement boat) is coming into evaluation; it has been determined by value of max. 15 cm. Finally, inaccuracy of whole system has been evaluated by value of 20 cm. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Project Analysis of Elaboration Technology for Mathematical Model for Navigation Water Levels Computation (in Czech) Project analysis of precise 2D mathematical model for determination of flow characteristics in the fairway. Sensitivity analysis of computed results and conditions DHI a.s. finished IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 45 of 126

46 Water Level Model - System specification and test documentation for the Czech Republic Water Level Model - Evaluation of data and service provision quality for Czech Republic Inputs to Conclusions & Recommendations Czech republic DHI SuAc 1.2 Report Implementation of IRIS II. Water level model (in Czech) which require 2D model update System Specification, System Design for Water Level Model Generation, System Implementation, Testing and documentation Pilot Operation Setup, WLM Service provision characteristics Evaluation of data and service quality Conclusions, Lessons learned, Recommendations Background information, Objectives, Results, Conclusions & recommendations Final report. Description and documentation of implementation of WLM and its testing DHI a.s. / RVC CR DHI a.s. / RVC CR DHI a.s. / RVC CR DHI a.s. / VARS a.s. DHI a.s. finished finished finished finished Table 3-4: Documentation of results SuAc 1.2 Czech Repuclic In progress Benefits 2D mathematical model of Czech pilot has been improved in accuracy, namely by significantly more accurate water depth data provided by new measurement boat (see final report of SuAc 1.1, please). Moreover, 2D mathematical model has been successfully recalibrated based 7 sets of calibration data (geodetic measured longitudinal profile of water levels). Tool updating bathymetry of the mathematical model was developed. This tool provides safe way of producing new model bathymetry based on the DMT created using the measured data. Process of the model input modification is speeded up. This will help to the Elbe river authority to prepare new set of the 2D result. Those results are after that used by tool for publishing of water level information file. Developed tools quarantined the standardization of the process of model bathymetry modification, the result data post-processing and water level information file creation. This eliminates possible human errors. Tool for the publishing of the water level information file was developed. The water levels in two locations Usti nad. Labem and Decin are used as the input data. Tool uses this pre-computed result data from mathematical for computation of water levels in 408 points every 100 meters along the river. The differences of computed levels from the reference levels (levels for the discharge 70.8) are published in form of the WLM file, following syntax described in the document Standardized water level exchange format for Inland ENCs. Syntax of the file was tested by uploading to via Donau the server. File is properly parsed and published on WLM Service Info Web pages. Necessity of the tools setup modifications during the project, created by changes in the mathematical model, development of the post- processing methodology show big advantage of highly configurable program. As the result tool is developed in such a way, than lot of changes including of changes in mathematical model, selections of the points for publishing of the data and even some changes in reporting XML format can be done without modification of the program only by changes in configuration files. It will be possible to use part of the tools on the other rivers even using different simulation model. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 46 of 126

47 3.4.4 Results (France) During the project the following were developed and implemented: a. Definition of the more reliable pilot stretch taking into account needs of skippers b. Documentation and approval of the pilot stretch c. Analysis of the actual water model used on the pilot stretch according of the aims of the project d. Definition of specification for a more simple Water Level Model e. Conducting a campaign of additional measures including the sudy of the locks impact f. Development and implementation of a simplified model g. Definition of specification of the service provision infrastructure h. Integration of the pilot system i. Test plan for the integrated pilot system j. Preliminary tests with the Austrian WLM server Points a) to e) were finalized in the first half of The other are in progress and preliminary tests with Austrian WLM server could be carried out during September Following a thorough analysis of user needs it turned out that the project should meet the following requirements: a. Develop a Water Level Model to provide information sufficiently clear to a section project involving particularly large difference in water level related to locks b. Define and translate the impact of locks c. Define the relevant accuracy and efficiency to be achieve A particular algorithm was developed to reflect the influence of locks operations. The simple model developed is installed on a central server of the institution (VNF). This server receives data from central monitoring stations collected on a dedicated server. This dedicated server includes a warning system on the operation of the gauges. Data from monitoring stations are received every 4 hours. The simplified model is then updated. The application generates an XML file containing the calculated water levels every 100m. Graphs of curves calculated water levels are also produced to allow a visual inspection. XML water levels files created are automatically sent to the ftp server shared by all member states. The system developed under the project meets the initial expectations of the project but will be improved on the following: Integration of new automatic gauges at the actual network Improvement of time data acquisition Definition of a more precise correlation between movements due to locks event and calculated water levels The solution finally chosen by France, using a very simplified model mainly based on automatic measured data seems to, subject to conclusions of final tests, meet project objectives. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Définition d une méthodologie pour la mise à disposition des usagers des informations relatives aux niveaux d eau sur le tronçon expérimental Definition of specification of the simplified water level model STUCKY france IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 47 of 126

48 situé sur la Deûle entre Don et Quesnoy_Proposition Définition d une méthodologie pour la mise à disposition des usagers des informations relatives aux niveaux d eau sur le tronçon expérimental situé sur la Deûle entre Don et Quesnoy_Analyse fonctionnelle Pilot operation setup STUCKY france Table 3-5: Documentation of results SuAc 1.2 France Benefits The project has provided a better understanding, in addition to the analysis of the hydraulic system, of the influence of locks operations on fluctuations in water levels. These fluctuations have been estimated at about cm. They confirm the need for users to receive information on water levels under bridges to avoid accidents. For security reasons users are the main beneficiaries of the system in place. Some results may be used by those responsible for water management but it is not the information they need first. Against the model developed by using the system of measuring stations today which is a benefit of the project. Indeed, the project has shown that to meet the needs of users, hydraulic models should be adapted to these specific needs and developed. This implies that relevant expertise should be developed in member states in order to develop these models. In addition to the information to be useful it must be updated quickly. These goals were targeted as part of the French project and updating every 4 hours is now reached. This time of updating is still insufficient and will require developing other means of transmission than those currently used. For information provided to users are sufficiently precise, the hydraulic models developed will be calibrated by an important number of input data. Even in the case of the French project in which a simplified model based only on data from monitoring gauges. Indeed it needs to have a large number of gauges so a significant investment including the service and maintenance of these measuring devices. It must be taken into account that these devices must be regularly monitored and subject to special monitoring to be operational. Water levels informations distributed must be reliable because they can engage the responsibility of the person who produces and disseminates. In this case an important control system must be systematically implemented. This should be discussed between the different member states. Very positive point of the project: A comprehensive system of data transmission has been defined. The tested system uses a specific system developed by each member states where the water level files are created. All files are then collected at a central server where users can download information on water levels. This system has been tested by different countries and works. As for the French project of the first tests are in progress to load levels created on the central server, no dedicated special difficulties is raised. The system developed is reliable and relatively easy to implement and could be used for general use. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 48 of 126

49 3.4.5 Results (the Netherlands) The Netherlands investigated the possibilities for providing water level data to ECDIS. In this investigation several aspects were looked at: User needs; Available water level models for calculating the data; Means of distribution. User needs Primarily it was identified that water level data in the Netherlands would contribute to providing actual depth information to fairway users. Therefore the user needs were elaborated in cohesion with the tasks as part of Sub Activity 1.1. Main conclusion of the user needs study was that on the pilot stretch little or no use was seen in using actual depth information in ECDIS for draught selection. However actual depth information would help fairway users in finding deeper parts in the fairway while navigating. This would contribute to fuel consumption and/or speed optimization. Available models Water level models based on precipitation, evaporation and snow melting exist for the following waterways in the Netherlands: IJssel (from Nederrijn until Keteldiep 125 km); Pannerdensch kanaal/nederrijn/lek (from Bijlandsch Kanaal until Krimpen 118 km); Bovenrijn/Bijlandsch Kanaal/Waal/Boven-Merwede (from German border until Werkendam, including pilot stretch 105 km); Maas (from Belgian border until Heesbeen 250 km) These water level models are a combination of hydrological rainfall-runoff models and 1D hydraulic models. The models are running online 4 times a day (0:00, 6:00, 12:00, 18:00) as part of a system called FEWS 3. The morning run is validated by an operator and when needed calibrated and re-run. The operational water level model is used in Sub Activity 1.2 as the source of water level data. Means of distribution Precondition for the distribution of water level data was the standardized water level exchange format as developed by the IEHG 4. Between the partners it was decided that via donau (AT) as Activity leader would implement a central FTP server and water level data web service. Also it was decided that via donau (AT) would coordinate changes needed in ECDIS viewers (Periskal, Tresco and Innovative Navigation). Conversion software was programmed in order to: export water level data from FEWS; convert water levels to correction values with regard to the reference water level (OLR5 for the Dutch pilot stretch) convert data to file format of the standardized water level exchange format (.wlc); and send the data to the central FTP server at via donau. Conclusion After implementation of the pilot, the service provision was evaluated. It was concluded that the implemented conversion software correctly converted and forwarded the water level data to the central FTP server. It was also possible to view the water level data being received by the Periskal ECDIS 3 Flood Early Warning System 4 IEHG: Inland ECDIS Harmonization Group 5 OLR = Overeengekomen Lage Rivierstand. In English this means Agreed Low River level. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 49 of 126

50 viewer. Other viewers could not be tested, because in these viewers water level data is only displayed in combination with depth data. As depth data was not available in the Inland ENC, this was not possible. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Detailed information on approved pilot stretches Water Level Model - System specification and test documentation for the Netherlands Water Level Model - Evaluation of data and service provision quality for the Netherlands Water Level Model - Recommendations for service improvement and extension Template for CBA Cost Benefit Analysis Report for the Netherlands Description of pilot stretch and characteristics (length, morphology, tributaries, infrastructure, surveys and gauges). Evaluation of user needs. Description of existing WLM software. Description of conversion software to be developed. Evaluation of data and service provision focussing on conversion software. Recommendations for service improvement and extension. Template for the CBA report combined for SuAc 1.1 and 1.2. Template includes an elaborated description of benefits following a benefit logic. Benefits to be amended for country specific circumstances. Description of costs and benefits for both this subactivity (1.2) and subactivity 1.1 (depth data). Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat Table 3-6: Documentation of results SuAc 1.2 the Netherlands Final (Input of NL incorporated in common document) Final (National document) Final (National document) Final (Input of NL incorporated in common document) Final (template document) Final (National document) Benefits The provision of water level data is contributing to two different types of information: 1. Actual bridge height. Water level data is provided as a correction value at a waterway profile with regard to the reference water level at that waterway profile. Bridge heights in Inland ENC are specified as a height with regard to the reference water level. The ECDIS viewer software combines both data (water level and reference bridge height) and displays the actual bridge height; 2. Actual depth. Water level data is provided as a correction value at a certain river distance with regard to the reference water level (OLR for the Dutch pilot stretch) at that distance. Depth data in IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 50 of 126

51 Inland ENC is specified as depth areas with depth values (min, max) with regard to the reference water level. Depth areas are connected to a waterway profile through a waterway distance attribute. The ECDIS viewer software combines both data (water level and reference depth) and displays the actual depth. In the Netherlands there are many bridges that have a critical height for shipping. However, on the Dutch part of the River Rhine, of which the Dutch pilot stretch is part, the bridge heights are guaranteed (CCNR obligation) to be at least 9.10 m above the maximum high water level. This is sufficient for the majority of shipping with the exception of special transports, crane vessels and such. Therefore at this moment no benefits are seen in providing water level data for the pilot stretch with regard to actual bridge heights and in excess of the water level information that is provided via Notices to Skippers. For different reasons there is no accurate and up-to-date depth data available in Inland ENC for the Dutch pilot stretch 6. Therefore it is not possible to display the actual depth for the pilot stretch in ECDIS viewers. Therefore at this moment no benefits are seen in providing water level data for the pilot stretch 7 with regard to actual depth and in excess of the water level information that is provided via Notices to Skippers Results (Romania) According to the to the Provision of water level information based on water level models to fairway users sub-activity objectives, Romanian activities focused on the description, conception, design and definition of a water level model adapted for the particularities of the lower Danube, on the one hand and, in the final phase of the project, on the implementation of a pilot system that would practically verify the coordinates of the model conceived. Therefore the results obtained are divided in two major categories: Phase 1: Conception and design phase results Phase 2: Pilot system implementation phase results As each phase had specific goals, the results obtained were accordingly, described as follows: Phase 1: Results corresponding to the conception and design phase Definition and approval of the pilot geographical strech as application area for the water level information concept system, representative for the Romanian specific navigation difficult conditions on the Danube and therefore appropriate for water level information distribution to the fairway users, defined with the following coordinates o Start point of the pilot strech : Gruia, km 845 o Intermediate point of the pilot strech: Cetate, km 810 o FInal point of the pilot strech: Calafat, km 790 o Total lenght of the pilot strech: 55 km Assessment of the technological context in Romania in terms of water level information management and its distribution to the users by the involved authorities. The result obtained revealed the necessity of conceiving and implementing a system for generating, on an usable accuracy and real-time basis, the information with regard to water level, especially for the difficult stretches Water Level Information pilot system conception and design in terms of water level model description, architectural description, information system modules description, functional 6 NB IENCs with detailed depth information are being produced in the Netherlands for among others the River Scheldt. 7 NB Online water level information is available in the Netherlands for among others the River Scheldt. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 51 of 126

52 needs, integration requirements, performance and accuracy necessities, equipment requirements Evaluation procedure to be followed for the implementation of the pilot system, as a directive line to sustain the effort of documenting the results achieved and the effort necessary to continue the activities of implementing a water level information system usable and reliable Phase 2: Corresponding to the pilot system implementation phase Generation of the Digital Terrain Model for the selected pilot stretch consisting of bathymetric measurements in the aria (using Donaris ship) and generation of the 3D elevation model using GIS software in the national grid coordinates Stereo 70 1D model generation for the pilot stretch using HEC RAS application Inclusion of depth areas with extended attributes in the IENC charts corresponding to Calafat area Software application for.xml correction files generation and upload on the central water level information server Physical infrastructure prepared to transmit and collect primary water level information, consisting of : o 3 automatic gauges systems (including sensors, data-loggers, data transmission equipment) installed at Calafat, Cetate, Gruia o 1 server, 1 UPS, 1 router installed at Giurgiu o 1 mobile water discharge measuring station Partial implementation documentation issued (and continuing) Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Phase 1: Conception and design Project Management Plan for the Water Level Information conception and design phase Report on technological context and user requirements for water level information Report on design and functional specifications of a Romanian water level information Description of phases Roles and responsibilities Description of deliverables Activities sequencing Milestones Assessment of the current Water Level Information context Description of the most relevant problems Description of risks Description of the project requirements Description of the user requirements Description of the Beneficiary s requirements Future actions Recommendations Presentation of the Water Level Information concept Description of the geographical pilot area chosen for implementation General presentation of the pilot system proposal Description of the general concept Knowledge Design Unit (KDU) Knowledge Design Unit (KDU) Knowledge Design Unit (KDU) delivered and accepted delivered and accepted delivered and accepted IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 52 of 126

53 system Report on global evaluation plan of the Romanian water level information system Phase 2: Pilot system implementation architecture Presentation and description of the state chart diagram of the system Description of the data flow Design of the information system Detailed functional specifications Description of the water level model parametric system Detailed presentation of the Water Level Information integration requirements Detailed description of the Equipment requirements Recommendations for implementation General description of the proposed testing procedure for the pilot system General presentation of the proposed objectives of the testing procedure Description of the proposed roles involved in the testing procedure Presentation of the proposed deliverables to be issued during the testing period Presentation of the proposed global performance indicators of the pilot system Set of documents containing relevant data with regard to pilot system implementation, having the following structure: Knowledge Design Unit (KDU) delivered and accepted Water Level Information pilot system implementation documentation Pilot system functional specifications: delivered Implementation activities initial gantt chart: delivered Pilot system development report, containing specific development activities information addressing the contractor s effort: not delivered Contractor s internal test report: not delivered Pilot system installation and configuration report: not delivered Functional testing report: not delivered CSR Table 3-7: Documentation of results SuAc 1.2 Romania Partially delivered Benefits The main benefits reached at the end of the SuAc 1.2, for Romania, are: Creation of a comprehensive documented knowledge base with respect to the water level information concept consisting of information included in the reports. This base can and must be used by the national responsible authorities for collecting and analysing water level information in order to continuously improve accuracy and performance, as well as for further development of the system Involvement of the experts in the specific activities (authorities operational personnel, responsible persons, independent experts), hence generating a distinct initiative at national level with respect to water level information to the benefit of authorities and final users of this information IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 53 of 126

54 Creation of an infrastructure (hardware, software, IENCs) that will allow continuous data collection, transmission and analyse of water level information accuracy and performance towards the benefit of the responsible actors and, in the end, towards the benefit of the fairway users Results (Slovakia) Danube River reach between Devín (river km 1880) and Bratislava (river km ) was chosen for pilot hydrodynamic modelling of navigational water levels. The Danube River on this reach is alluvial with significant bed load transport of gravel size. The banks of the main channel are mostly fortified by stone rip-rap. The major part of the chosen pilot reach is border section between Slovakia and Austria. Planar shape of the pilot reach is dominated by several major bands. The flow pattern is influenced by groin system, containing several groin groups on right and left side of the navigational channel respectively. The downstream end of the pilot reach is influenced by backwater effect of hydropower scheme Gabčíkovo, depending on its actual operation. The backwater is significant during low discharges, while during high flows is negligible. The navigational water levels were calculated using 2D hydrodynamic model. Modelling package MIKE 21 FM, with flexible mesh was used for 2D modelling. The model bathymetry was based on digital elevation model of the river bed and the floodplains. The topography of the river bed crosssections in respective distances of 50 m was measured in July The resolution of the 2D model was determined by computational mesh, which elements vary in dimensions. In the main river channel the mesh elements are quadrangles with width up to 8 metres across the channel and length up to 40 metres along the channel. The model was calibrated in means of adjusting Manning resistance numbers. 12 different steady discharges in the range from minimal navigational discharge to maximal navigational discharge were simulated. The downstream boundary water levels for the simulation discharges were defined in several alternatives, taking in account the backwater effect of Gabčíkovo hydropower scheme. The modelling results contain values of calculated water surface elevations, water depth and flow velocity in each single element of computational mesh, covering the whole river channel and close surroundings. Water surface elevations in the navigational fairway centreline in respective distances of each 100 metres were extracted from 2D result files. These water surface elevations were further interpolated. Together 47 different water levels were defined. Respective differences between individual water levels were 10 cm for low discharges to 25 cm for high discharges. These water levels were utilised for determination of water level corrections for their transmission to vessels, on the basis of actual hydrological situation on the river. Special software application for automated generation of water level correction files was developed. Once a day at 8 o clock in the morning the application downloads actual hydrological data from pilot Danube River reach from Slovak Hydro-meteorological Institute web service dedicated to IRIS Europe II project. These data are actual water levels from gauging stations Devín (upstream limit) and Bratislava (downstream limit). The water levels are on-line data from 6 o clock, validated and confirmed at 8 o clock. On the basis of these two water levels, the application defines the most suitable water level from the pre-calculated water level file and calculates actual corrections of water levels from the minimal navigational water level. Water level correction file in prescribed format is then generated and automatically uploaded to via donau WL server. Testing of the system functionality and accuracy was performed. The testing of accuracy was based on new measurements of river bed cross-sections and water levels in July Differences between new actual river bed topography and existing model bathymetry was performed on several selected locations. Testing of water level accuracy was performed in selected locations along the pilot river reach. Reasonable accuracy was documented. Differences between water levels measured and defined by numerical model were in most cases lower than 15 cm, with the biggest difference of 23 cm. Testing of procedures for automated generation and uploads of water level corrections was performed, problems were detected and corrected. The system for automated generation and uploads of water level corrections will continue at least by the end of the project, to which date the web service of hydro-met data is agreed. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 54 of 126

55 On board testing of ENCs upgrades on the basis of water level corrections was not performed yet. The ENCs of the pilot river reach enabling the service have not been actualised so far. The work on ENCs is in progress and possible on-board testing is envisaged by the end of the year Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Water Level Model operational National evaluation of Water Level Model (technical assessment of data quality) Upload of WLM files to web server (automated upload at regular intervals) On board test of the system with ECDIS viewer numerical model of pilot Danube River reach, simulated water levels of different navigational discharges testing of accuracy of model bathymetry and accuracy of provided information on actual water levels regular automated generation of water level correction files and their upload to Via Dona WL web server Upgrades of ENCs of the pilot river reach, enabling on board testing of the system are still in progress. It is expected that the system will be tested on board ones the ENCs will be upgraded. DHI DHI KIOS/ DHI VUD / DHI Table 3-8: Documentation of results SuAc 1.2 Slovakia successfully finished successfully finished successfully finished pending Benefits Following benefits are reached: Information about actual water depth in fairway contributing to improved safety of navigation. Benefit will navigational companies, State Navigation Administration International cooperation with experts and institutions across Europe, knowledge exchange. Benefit will mostly involved institutions and experts but also related community to which the information is passed. Following benefits could be reached by extending the activities: Safety of the navigation could be improved by providing the water depth actualisation during extended period after project completion and also by extension of the service to critical river reaches. Modelling of sediment transport and simulation of river bed morphological changes could help to define future critical sections and provide information for maintenance of fairways. Benefits to State Navigation Administration (ŠPS) and Slovak Water Management Enterprise (SVP). IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 55 of 126

56 3.5 Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps Experiences Water level model service provision is a complex process requiring o Water Level Model o Data conversion and upload to Webservice o Webservice o Inland ECDIS viewer prototypes o ENCs with depth information encoded for WLM use Water level modelling is an expert task with only few expertise available in Europe Water level model implementation is strongly dependent on river characteristics and organizational issues. Hence implementation efforts in the participating countries are very diverse in its nature. However, for the service provision a common approach is beneficial. River stretches with a dynamic morphology are difficult to model and also require a high update rate of depth information 1D and 2D models were implemented but the standardized data format for transmitting the data only allows 1D data. The Webservice application has proven to be an effective way to collect and distribute Water level model files. The standardized data format allowed for a common approach on Inland ECDIS integration. Conclusions Water level data without depth data is only useful in Inland ECDIS to get bridge clearance Use of water level data for decisions on loading is not feasible. Main use will be the visualization of available fairway width, shallow areas and deep water stretches to optimize the fuel consumption and/or speed. Maintenance intervals for water level models (update of topographic data, recalibration of model, etc.) still to be investigated and dependent on accuracy and update requirements of water level data Complexity of water level model is dependent on morphology, dynamic processes, tributaries and infrastructure (locks, barrages, etc.). Regular and reliable hydrological data (water levels on gauges) is crucial input. Additional gauge stations and additional survey data help to improve the modeling accuracy. Recommendations Recommendations for the improvement of accuracy of Water Level Model service provision: Accuracy and update requirements regarding water level data should be investigated in alignment with requirements described for depth data Analyze accuracy of model through more measurements at different water levels Organizational cooperation should be optimized to improve cooperation with water managers being mainly responsible for water level modelling Standardized data format needs to be corrected based on the findings in IRIS Europe II Legal aspects (risk assessment) need to be clarified Display of water level information in user interface in ECDIS viewers needs to be optimised based on the findings in IRIS Europe II IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 56 of 126

57 A solution for a permanent operation of the Webservice needs to be investigated at European level Benefits of an upgrade to more sophisticated water level modelling (e.g. online dynamic modelling or 2D modelling) should be investigated. Benefits of a possible extension of the Standardized data format to transmit 2D data should be investigated. Recommendations for service extension of Water Level Model service provision: Water level models should primarily be implemented at critical sections Cost-Benefit analysis should be performed before the implementation Envisioned next steps A proposal is in preparation to the IEHG to update the Standardized data format based on the findings in IRIS Europe II. The proposal will be presented to IEHG at the next meeting in China in October Optimization efforts are planned in some countries to improve the accuracy of the provision of actual depth information. This includes the improvement of depth information in ENCs as well as the improvement of the water level model. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 57 of 126

58 4 SuAc 1.3 Enhanced Notices to Skippers Background information Good utilisation of NtS services and improvement of conditions for inland waterway transport needs to look for real user s expectations and needs, which could be solved by NtS technology and could help their daily routine. User friendly approach requires possibility for interchange of NtS between different systems to collect all information on one site. National infrastructure for basis NtS services was available at the start of IRIS Europe II. During the project the national infrastructure was upgraded and enhanced to pass latest standard requirements and to enhance data inputs. Some preparatory work was already done within other projects on NtS Web Services data interchange. Project IRIS Europe II enhanced the interchange technology to more countries and put it into pilot operational stage. Objectives Existing NtS services are extended by the implementation of new messages (e.g. weather related messages) and provision of new information (e.g. water level predictions, ice predictions). Upgrade of the functional NtS systems to the latest technical specifications for NtS according to the Commission Regulation 416/2009, incl. its amendments, is a precondition for the proper fulfilment of the task. Second objective is the pilot implementation of NtS Web Services as specified by the NtS Web- Service Task Force to enhance accessibility and international interoperability of NtS. The task concludes with the pilot implementation and proposed recommendations on the modification of the relevant EC legislation. Work approach In the case of enhancement of NtS, all work has been done on national level. Important was an exchange of experiences and different approaches that enables opening of new solutions to other partners. Implementation of international NtS data exchange needed more cooperation, because during implementation work some partners found necessity to slightly modify standardisation for reliability function. Function must be tested on the level of NtS exchange between partners. Results Project partners in general implemented NtS services according to the latest version of NtS standard. In some countries there were developed several systems for data collection and evaluation as information input to NtS services. By all partners there was implemented also NtS data interchange by Web Services. Conclusions & Recommendations The NtS encoding guide should be reworked in order to provide unambiguous and clear guidelines for NtS editors creating NtS messages. Quality of information input into NtS services is crucial for reliability of NtS and its acceptance by fairway users. Systems for NtS compilation and distribution should use easy configurable solutions, because standardisation work continuous and new amendments are foreseen. Implementation of technologies for automatic data transfer from sensors significantly spares time, human work, errors and is a generally good solution. Specific emphasis should be laid on data quality checks, because due to failures on sensors, data transmissions etc. wrong data could be detected, resulting in unreliable information distributed through NtS that confuses fairway users. Mathematical models with usage of on-line data from a network of sensors on waterways are a modern solution that could help the decision process by RIS authorities. User friendliness is an important task for NtS services. A solution for user friendly provisioning of NtS could be creating a central European display for NtS. Such a central display would provide fairway users with relevant NtS on their whole journey without borders. Necessary task is the implementation of interchange of NtS data by Web Services. Precondition is a standard and harmonised implementation in all connected countries. Web Services are used for pull services of NtS data. These services could easily be used as a basis for the central European display for NtS. For push services there is not yet a common solution. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 58 of 126

59 4.1 Background information Notices to Skippers (NtS) is a concept of common standardised means for distribution of short-term administrative information about operational status of waterways relevant for the safety of inland navigation that is important for skippers and other waterway users in daily working due navigation. NtS are regulated by Commission Regulation No 416/2007 concerning the technical specifications as legal basis. Good utilisation of NtS services and improvement of conditions for inland waterway transport needs to look for real users expectations and needs, which could be solved by NtS technology and could help their daily routine. The necessity of the topic is based on the pressure for improvement of quality of information in NtS that affects safety and reliability of transport and utilisation of waterways. User friendly approach requires possibility for interchange of NtS between different systems to collect all information on one site. Most important objective of SuAc 1.3 is an implementation of tasks about extending of data collecting and evaluation process, as the source for NtS distribution. It means water levels, weather, operational status of locks, bridges etc. Second task with common importance is an implementation of NtS Web Services to enhance accessibility and international interoperability of NtS, developed by NtS Expert Group Preliminary work Related to the implementation of the European Services to be done within other projects, some preparatory work was already done on NtS Web Services data interchange, as project NEWADA and other activities. The scope between partners was not so wide, but the basic technology was developed, hand in hand with standardisation. Project IRIS Europe II enhanced the interchange technology to more countries and put it into pilot operational stage. For basic NtS services national infrastructure was available that was upgraded and enhanced to pass last standard requirements and to enhance data inputs Challenges One of the main challenges within the international NtS data exchange were the discussions and development works on a technical solution for the interchange of NtS data, because available standardisation was not directly applicable and connection between partners with different general technical solutions is difficult. Furthermore the exchange of experiences about solutions for additional NtS services with collection and data evaluation was important challenge for other development. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 59 of 126

60 4.2 Objectives Specific objectives While the standard enables a wide variety of information, in most countries the information focuses to the provision of actual water level information, fairway and traffic related messages and ice messages. Additional messages (e.g. water level prediction) and the international exchange of NtS information needs further investigation and is therefore being addressed in Sub-Activity 1.3. Task 1: Existing NtS services are extended by the implementation of new messages (e.g. weather related messages) and provision of new information (e.g. water level predictions, ice predictions). A pilot hydrological model for linking of existing measured and predicted water flows in different sections of the water body, which results in prediction of water flows in free flowing sections of several waterways, is constructed and implemented. Data from measuring of actual weather on locks and other locations relevant for inland navigation are distributed via NtS, including navigation important data on official weather forecast. A pilot model for prediction of ice situation on a pilot stretch with usage of existing measured temperature on locks and official weather forecast is constructed and implemented (specific item of interest for the Czech Republic). The objective of the project IRIS Europe II is not the standardisation work, but according to identified recommendations for NtS Service enhancement could be necessary to propose NtS standard modifications. These proposals will be solved in cooperation with NtS Expert Group. Upgrade of the functional NtS systems to the newest technical specifications for NtS according to the Commission Regulation 416/2009, incl. its amendments, is a precondition for the proper fulfilment of the task. Addition Slovakia: Construction and development of the pilot hydrological model for linking of existing measured and predicted water flows in different sections of the water body is not applicable for Slovakia. Task 2: Typically applications providing the NtS are operated by nationally assigned Competent Authorities. They are distributed across different locations, platforms and standardised messages are available in message readable XML format via s or ftp. The common secure approach towards provision of the Notices to Skippers is of high importance in order to enable users, including applications processing NtS, better access to information. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of internationally recognised standards. In that sense the Web Services have been chosen to integrate the provision of NtS messages in European countries. Main objective is the pilot implementation of NtS Web Services as specified by the NtS Web-Service Task Force to enhance accessibility and international interoperability of NtS. The task concludes with the pilot implementation and there are proposed recommendations to the NtS Expert group on the modification of the relevant EC legislation, according to implementation and test experiences. It is envisioned that for example the voyage plan related activities in RISING could make use of the enhanced NtS. This activity is performed in close cooperation with the Notices to Skippers Expert Group. Addition for Belgium: Task 2 is already covered by another TEN-T RIS-project in Belgium named Implementation of RIS in Flanders, therefore the contribution to this task is limited to the participation in relevant meetings and provision of input for the reports Task 1: Information concerning water levels and weather information is gathered from third parties; Belgium will focus on actual water levels not on water level predictions Addition for the Netherlands: The Netherlands have started the development of a FIS-server with the aim to provide presently available nautical information to the users of the fairways. The development of the FIS-server is funded outside any IRIS Europe II funds and has been co-funded by the European Union. The Dutch IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 60 of 126

61 objective within this SuAc is to be kept informed of the developments and to be prepared for any new developments with respect to Notice to Skippers. The Netherlands not executes pilot implementations within this SuAc, the role of the Netherlands is considered as observer Planned tasks and results Planned tasks: Elaborate an inventory of the needs of the fairway users considering the regional differences Elaborate the requirements and specifications for NtS service enhancement (especially considering availability of basic data for RIS providers, e.g. weather data) based on the identified needs, including the international exchange of NtS data Elaborate an inventory of NtS service implementation by each responsible country Analyse the NtS standard and specify enhancements of the NtS Services in close cooperation with the NtS Expert Group Pilot implement enhanced NtS Services focusing on water levels (current and prediction), weather information (and forecast) and ice conditions (and prediction), including necessary sensor equipment (e.g. to gain input for weather information taking into consideration the differences between river sections) o o Addition France: France does not focus on this task Addition Slovakia: Slovakia does not focus on arrangements and installations of sensor equipment Pilot implement international exchange of NtS data making use of agreed web services according to the ongoing standardisation / harmonisation in the NtS Expert Group Test pilot implementations Contribute with the feedback about the chosen approach to the developments in the NtS Expert Group of the chosen approach, so that the NtS Expert Group can provide modifications, which might adapt the relevant EC Regulation Planned results: Elaborate SuAc 1.3 report describing the work that was done and the achieved results Specifications on the enhancement of the NtS Services based on the identified needs and requirements, including the international exchange of NtS data Pilot implementation of specified enhanced NtS Services, including tests Pilot implementation of international exchange of NtS data, including tests Recommendations towards the NtS Expert Group Documented results for enhanced Notices to Skippers Amended tasks and results The following amendments took place related to the planned tasks on SuAc level: Analyse the NtS standard and specify enhancements of the NtS Services in close cooperation with the NtS Expert Group o Addition by PMT (April 2010): This task is skipped due to the agreement between the NtS expert group and the partners of IRIS Europe II and other multinational projects to do not specify additional messages and services but to focus on the implementation of the existing standardised messages and services with respect to Notices to Skippers (as it was discussed during the first Common Issues meeting on in Vienna). Optional task, strongly supported by the PMT: Contribute to the works of the NtS subgroup "NtS User friendliness The following amendments took place related to the planned results on SuAc level: IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 61 of 126

62 Specifications on the enhancement of the NtS Services based on the identified needs and requirements, including the international exchange of NtS data Recommendations towards the NtS Expert Group (changed to optional report, depending on the findings during the execution of the SuAc) 4.3 Work approach SuAc partners Country Partner organisation Role within SuAc Responsibility CZ RVCCR SuAc leader AT via donau Implementing partner BE De Scheepvaart Implementing partner BG BPI Implementing partner FR VNF Implementing partner HU RSOE Implementing partner NL RWS Implementing partner (Observer) RO AFDJ Implementing partner SK KIOS Implementing partner DE HR Work approach Cooperation partner Cooperation partner Table 4-1: Partners SuAc 1.3 SuAc coordination; national SuAc execution National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot Follow the work and results of SuAc; provide feedback and input Follow the work and results of SuAc; provide feedback and input In the case of Task 1, all work has been done on national level. For the evaluation of fairway users needs there were prepared common questionnaire that have been used by some project partners as a template for fairway users need inventory survey. Important was an exchange of experiences and different approaches that enable opening of new solutions by other partners. Specifically difficult task was implementation of international NtS data exchange, because during implementation work some partners found necessity to slightly modify standardisation for reliability function. Exchange of approaches was intensive and part by part started pilot data exchange. Partners that started implementation later used last version of amended solutions. As a result there will be prepared common change requests to NtS standard, after pilot operation. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 62 of 126

63 4.3.3 Meetings Meeting Duration Date Place SuAc 1.3 Expert Workshop 1 1 day Prague SuAc 1.3 Expert Workshop 2 1 day Prague SuAc 1.3 Expert Workshop 3 1 day Prague SuAc 1.3 Expert Workshop 4 1 day Budapest Table 4-2: Meetings SuAc 1.3 This first workshop was an opportunity to exchange different approaches by project partners to planned work. Discussion was about common SuAc workplan and about inventory of users needs by questionnaire, inc. questionnaire structure. At the second workshop there were presented detailed plans for enhancement of NtS by partners. Main time was used for discussion about problems with implementation of WS, conclusion was that partners with more experience will prepare common proposal for standard improvement. Challenging were results from inventories of users needs done by several partners. The third workshop was an opportunity to a detailed discussion about specific WS issues and interconnection with NEWADA FIS portal and other applications. Progress in NtS implementation was reviewed. Finally there was established a roadmap towards pilot operation of NtS WS by all partners. At the last meeting final conclusions of enhanced NtS implementations will be discussed. Special focus is oriented on status and experiences with NtS WS interconnections and next steps. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 63 of 126

64 4.4 Results Results (Austria) On national level via donau has executed the following main tasks within this SuAc: Inventory of the needs of the fairway users by means of an online survey Contribution to the inventory of NtS service implementation under the lead of the SuAc leader Contribution to the further enhancement of the NtS standard by means of CR to the NtS EG Contribution to the work of the NtS subgroup User friendly NtS Contribution to the work of the NtS subgroup NtS Web Service TF Specification, contracting and testing the upgrade of the infrastructure to the latest NtS standard (Commission Regulation (EC) 416/2007 and its amendment, XSD and WSDL version 3.0, NtS tables 3.0.1) Specification, contracting and testing the implementation of the NtS Web Service as defined by the NtS Web Service TF (version FR ) Specification, contracting and testing the implementation of water level prediction via WRM Specification, contracting and testing the implementation of the WERM message within the national infrastructure Specification, contracting and testing the implementation of an NtS reference data management tool Specification, contracting and testing the improvement of the NtS subscription service Specification, contracting and testing the improvement of the public NtS search mask (structure, usability, performance) Specification, contracting and testing the improvement of the manual FTM, ICEM, EICEM and WEICEM production process (structure, usability, performance, reminder for editors) Interconnection to foreign NtS applications of Germany, Belgium, Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic via the NtS Web Service Due to the fact that the technology of the existing NtS application was outdated it was decided to make a complete re-design of the system. The Austrian NtS application is available at Documentation Title Content Organisation IRIS- Europe_II_SuAc1.3_D1a_Evaluation_NtS_use r_questionnaire_at_v1p1.pdf IRIS- Europe_II_SuAc1.3_D1b_Enhanced_NtS_syst em_specification_at_v1p0.doc IRIS- Europe_II_SuAc1.3_D2a_System_documentat ion_enhanced-nts-service_at_v1p0.doc Results of the public survey focused on requirements towards the NtS service in Austria (D1a) Specification of enhancements of the Austrian NtS service (D1b) System and test documentation of pilot implementation of via donau via donau via donau Status / comment Final Final Final IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 64 of 126

65 IRIS- Europe_II_SuAc1.3_D3a_System_documentat ion_int_nts_data_exchange_at_v1p0.doc specified enhanced NtS services (D2a) System and test documentation of pilot implementation of international NtS data exchange (D3a) Table 4-3: Documentation of results SuAc 1.3 Austria via donau Under finalizatio n In addition to the official project deliverables, for the purposes of via donau, the supreme navigation authority and for users of NtS application themselves; several documents have been created: Benefits Test cases (use cases and test cases in order to test all system components) Installation Manual (guide for the installation of the NtS application on VMWare virtualization environment) Administrator Manual (manual for user management, application parameter settings, editing of default values for RIS message creation forms, reference data management) Security manual (description of implemented state of the arte security measures in order to avoid vulnerability of the NtS application) Editor Manual (manual for editors creating, managing and publishing NtS messages) User Manual (manual describing the public parts of the NtS application) Successful implementation of a state of the art NtS application featuring various benefits for authorities and RIS users: Improved user friendly creation and management of FTM, ICEM and WERM messages Automatic publication of water levels and water level predictions based on sensor data by means of WRM messages Improved user friendly search and display of NtS on the public web interface, the web interface is available in 12 languages Provision of national NtS via machine machine Web Service interface to other systems Display of NtS from other countries on the national public web interface Application internal RIS Index ref. data management tool Improved users, roles and application management Implementation of Application internal RIS Index ref. data management tool and NtS reference tables management for administrators IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 65 of 126

66 4.4.2 Results (Belgium) The implementation of the last NTS standard V 3.0 have been realised for the complete Flanders area, the application has the possibilities to handle multiple authorities. The application is available on Contribution to the work of the NtS subgroups User friendly NtS and NtS Web Service TF Complete usage of the national RIS index for introducing NTS messages, missing ISRS codes have been introduced to be able to use NTS. Standard subscriptions and ftp access The automatic gathering of the waterlevels from the hydrological servers was implemented. The result is that the publication of waterlevels can run without human interventions. The actual status is that the test have been successful closed but the production release is not yet activated. Webservice implementation based on the previous webservice standard was installed. The modifications and feedback as implemented in Flanders were given to the webservice taskforce. A new webservice definition has been issued; the implementation will be executed but probably not ready before the end of the IRIS-II project. By introducing the new standard, we saw that a more uniform way of using notices to skippers over different authorities have to be executed. This activity is started and some procedure have already been harmonised between authorities. Interaction with Calamity abatement system to prepare NTS messages based on calamities Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Opleiding NTS Applicatiebeheer Technisch ontwerp Testcases FAT/SAT Usermanual Design document Test documentation nv De Scheepvaart/ Waterwegen en Zeekanaal nv nv De Scheepvaart/ Waterwegen en Zeekanaal nv nv De Scheepvaart/ Waterwegen en Zeekanaal nv Table 4-4: Documentation of results SuAc 1.3 Belgium Final Final Final Most of the mentioned documents have been elaborated also in the RIS Flanders I case, some additional IRIS-II concerns have been added in the documents Benefits Implementation of newest version of NTS has different benefits for authorities and other RIS-users: Possibility to translate the messages in different languages, although the input is done in one language Definition of additional ISRS codes for the used objects in NTS Uniform and stabilised webservice definition for exchanging information Starting to ensure that the NTS encoding procedures are the same between the different authorities in Flanders. Automatic publication of waterlevels IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 66 of 126

67 4.4.3 Results (Bulgaria) In Bulgaria the pilot implementation of enhanced NtS Services was decided to be implemented along with setting up the NtS subsystem within the national River Information Services project BULRIS. The reason for moving this activity to BULRIS project was the delay in IRIS Europe II, as well in BULRIS which caused overlapping with similar activities within BULRIS and necessity to avoid double financing form EU funds. [to see ec legislation] The other reason was the limited budget in IRIS Europe II. Contribution to this activity is limited to the participation in relevant meetings and implementing latest specifications to the NtS subsystem of BULRIS. The Notices to skippers transfer information for inland waterways, and are widely used for traffic management and shipping routes/voyage planning. It was done by means of standalone webserver where notices with fairway, water level and ice messages were published by administrations responsible and were accessible for users. Implementation of River Information System - BULRIS on Bulgarian stretch of Danube River started in It is developed with regard to Directive 2005/44/EC on RIS and technical specifications of the BULRIS correspond to Commission regulations 414/2007, 415/2007, 416/2007, 164/2010. The subsystem Notices to Skippers in BULRIS provides actual information for the traffic and the condition of the fairway. Due to its significance, the information is forwarded in real time. Notice to skippers is implemented on NtS XML version 3.0. The sub-system is divided into two parts public and internal. The public system enables all users via Internet to access the issued notices by means of web based GUI. It does not require users authorization. It also allows the users to subscribe to receive notices by upon their publication. The internal part of the system provides input, publishing, change of notices and all other features related to data management and access to the system based on web based GUI. Following messages are implemented: fairway and traffic related messages (FTM); water level related messages (WRM); ice messages (ICEM); weather related messages (WERM). Standardized NtS are provided in three formats defined in the standard: full text format in German, English, French and Dutch; code format (tags and values) in all languages of the standard; machine-readable XML-format. NtS sub-system provides a Web Service allowing external systems to search and retrieve Notices to skippers as XML messages using the same search criteria as in the pull service. First tests were conducted in July Final tests were done in October The system is expected to be fully operational in the begging of 2012 Documentation Documentation is part of BULRIS project and is out of scope of IRIS II; available on request. Benefits The main benefits of this sub-activity reflected in national project BULRIS. These are technical: implementation of latest standard in NtS sub-system; IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 67 of 126

68 implementation of webservices for possible interchange of NtS with other RIS; gained experience in participating in working groups. and operational: more comfortable and faster work in general improved access to NtS for users (skippers); improved access for input, publishing, editing of NtS by administration concerned and as consequence of this, better quality of NtS content; improved search and display of NtS messages providing fast and clean way of finding messages The NtS sub-system has a potential for further developing with applying a water model and automatic level input for water level predictions, automatic weather data collection for current conditions on fairway, etc., which would be of great benefit for skippers on lower Danube Results (Czech Republic) Inventory of fairway users needs By individual interviews with skippers and fairway users were identify their needs in the scope of NtS as reliable and early information about water levels in free flowing section, with available predictions for longer period. On waterway in general they are looking forward prediction of navigation interruption by floods and ice. Weather information about dangerous wind and fog could be useful, but it must be often updated. Implementation of the last standard of NtS The previous NtS systems on LAVDIS has been upgraded to the last version XML 3.0 on the whole TEN-T waterways network (315 km). On the waterways in the CZ are available FTM, ICEM (manually compiled), WRM (automatically generated) and WERM (technology for manual compilation, automatic way is in development). There are two distribution ways - by and by web pages of RIS portal LAVDIS. NtS are available in XML, code and plain text (coded messages sk / bg / de / en / fr / hr / hu / nl / ro / ru / cs / cz and full text de / en / fr / nl / cz) and users could use different parameters for searching or ordering by web interface. Works on implementation of interchange of NtS by Webservices consists of development of software tool for automatic NtS data exchange by Webservices by WS standard WSDL, WS-I Basic Profile 1.1 standard, SAGA standard, by SOAP protocol and secured communication SSL. There is an interface for sending of all kind of NtS messages in XML format by WS according to parameters in request received by WS. There is also an interface for proceeding of order for push service, received by WS. LAVDIS web interface enables presentation of NtS from NtS systems from other countries by WS on the bases of users request put on LAVDIS web page. The technology is not finalised yet, because pilot test operation is in progress. Water level forecast on Labe waterway One dimensional hydrodynamic model of Elbe Waterway has been built for the purposes of both continual and short-term water level forecast, for the refinement of a long-term water level forecast (especially for the specific profile in Usti nad Labem) and for the navigation purposes. It will also help the dispatchers to find optimal manipulation strategies for particular control structures in unusual and nonstandard situations. The model is built for the river section between km and and it is designed for the low-flow conditions from the minimum up to the maximum navigation discharges or up to the channel capacity respectively. All 24 control structures (weirs) are schematized and implemented within the model. Calibrated mathematical model is automatically run every 15 minutes in the continual on-line mode at the dispatching centre of Elbe River Basin Authority. Actual values of water levels and discharges at all weirs and discharges predicted by the AQUALOG system for all the important tributaries are used IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 68 of 126

69 as initial and boundary conditions of the model. Any occurrence or prediction of an abnormal situation is detected during the analysis of results (with the emphasis on the control of water levels that has to be kept within the permitted limits according to the weir operation manuals). This mode allows the user to run predefined alternative scenarios of the weirs manipulation, making it easier to choose the optimal action to mitigate the impact of nonstandard situation and steady the flow conditions along the Elbe Waterway for the safer navigation. An overall balance predictive ability of the model is good from a long-term point of view as well. The balance analysis and interpretation of the results will be specified during the test operation, but even now the long-term forecast possibilities and the plausibility of the model for the navigation purposes are obvious. Actual status and forecast of weather situation on waterway The implementation consists of implementation of technology for transfer of current weather information from the monitoring system on locks, Czech Hydrometeorological Institute and several local sensors to central RIS database, including publication on the web LAVDIS. One of the results is generating NtS WERM on the base of actual situation and slight predictions. By previous projects have already been installed anemometers, thermometers and cameras in some locks on Labe, including the transfer of the meteo date to LAVDIS database. The system was upgraded and also recording system for data was implemented. The system has been amended by hygrometers on Labe and on Vltava also with anemometers. On free flowing section is implemented meteo sensor equipment on new Wifi Access Points installed by SuAc 1.4. As additional information source is the web interface for manual input of weather situation on locks by lock operators, during filling of lock passing reports. Evaluation of different inputs is laid on RIS centre, where operator is able to decide about data relevancy and choose publication of final information on web and NtS WERM. Due to later implementation start there are not yet experiences from pilot operation. Actual status of waterway operational status For better information quality about waterway operation conditions there was implemented new more transparent web presentation interface on page LAVDIS, where are available actual data from Labe and Vltava lock and gauges, including web cameras. In RIS operational centre of Czech navigation authority due to specific operators needs there was implemented different user interface. Operational center consist physically from computers and servers, wide LCD monitors, LCD wall for general overview and from other equipment. Main presentation part is a dynamic waterway scheme with actual basic information about locks status, gauges, position of vessels and meteo information. System was prepared with use SCADA system include details views. Part of RIS operational center is oriented to work with snaps from cameras on locks and state border. All data sources are used for improved information chain to NtS issuing, but also for information for skippers by VHF. Experiences from pilot operation are generally good, as the crucial point for information quality is the reliability of data connections with locks and other authorities. Due to different technologies and structure of responsibilities were necessary to establish an organizational system for prevent failures. Actual status and forecast of ice on waterway The model predicts on Labe-Vltava waterway (Labe in the section between Pardubice and CZ/DE state border, Vltava in the section between Prague and Mělník) the occurrence of ice phenomena based on available meteorological and hydrological data, which are accessible on-line in LAVDIS server and public meteorological servers. The model contains, as total, 311 km of the waterway, 31 weirs, 14 floating channels, 7 docks and 14 river tributaries. The calculation model consists of the hydraulic module, which solves the basic characteristics of the water circulation in the waterway, and of the thermal module, which based on the principles of heat exchange between the water stream and the environment solves the time dependent temperature distribution in the water way. The formation of ice phenomena is then dependent on the calculated water temperature, flow velocity and various other (meteorological) aspects. The lead time of the forecast of ice phenomena is 7 days. The testing of the model proved that the model parameters are set correctly and with respect to their physical meaning it is not recommended to modify them significantly. The parameter values were altogether experimentally derived from the results of previous studies regarding conditions of Czech watercourses. Within the test operation of the model the basic simulated parameters of ice phenomena, or the basic quantities which influence the origin of these phenomena, were in good agreement with the reality. It is especially the longitudinal temperature profile of the watercourse. The prediction itself of ice phenomena is then affected mainly by wind speed and flow velocity. The model predictions of the origin of formation of ice phenomena were also in good agreement with the reality. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 69 of 126

70 Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Implementation of the last version of NtS standard in LAVDIS system Hydrological model of Labe waterway complete documentation Feasibility study for provision of weather information on waterways Actual status and forecast of weather situation on waterway Design of RIS operational centre Documentation for Optimisation of Web interface Implementation documentation of RIS operational centre Proposal of icephenomena evaluation model Development and Testing of the Model of Ice Phenomena on the Elbe-Vltava Waterway Testing and Implementation of the Model of Ice Phenomena on the Elbe-Vltava Waterway Description of new functionality NtS inc. enhanced environment and updated data model Data sources and methodology, Schematization of model, Calibration of model and testing phase Detail feasibility study about availabilities of data for provision of weather information, including data evaluation Complete documentation of implemented tools for weather data collection and evaluation Operational analysis and design Detail description of new version of optimised web interface Detail documentation of implemented technologies 1. Analysis of historical ice-phenomena forecasting approach from Proposal of the new forecasting system. Testing of the model in real conditions Implementation of the ice-phenomena model in the web environment Kybertec, s.r.o. DHI a.s. ÚFA ČAV (Institute for atmosphere physics of Czech Academy of Sciences) Kybertec, s.r.o. Kybertec, s.r.o. Kybertec, s.r.o. Kybertec, s.r.o. Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague Finalised Implementation finalised, test phase in document finalisation Final in finalisation Final Final Final Final Final Table 4-5: Documentation of results SuAc 1.3 Czech Republic in finalisation Benefits System for NtS distribution according to the last standard version enable full compatibility. Data interchange by WS is a challenging approach, but needs more work to established user friendly solution. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 70 of 126

71 Mathematical model for the whole Labe waterway flows help the dispatchers with managing nonstandard situations which can cause serious problem with navigation and which have not been solved effectively and systematically yet, with positive impact on safety. Potential for longer water level predictions is serious, but it needs more testing during pilot operation to established reliable predictions longer then 48 hours. Collection of weather information and information about operational status of waterways to RIS centre improve safety on waterway, because RIS centre operators could warn skippers on dangerous weather effects (wind, fog etc.) and situations (closing of waterway due to floods, failure on locks etc.) Warning could be done effectively also via lock operators. Distribution of WERM NtS is a challenging way, dependent on transmission speed to vessels and board technologies. Specific potential has model of ice phenomena in a more effective planning of traffic on waterways in connection with possible limitations of navigational operation due to ice phenomena. The system evaluates the effectiveness and meaningfulness of the mentioned interventions and will improve decision making of competent persons in the state administration. Real usage needs evaluation during pilot operation in winter periods Results (France) Pilot implementation of specified enhanced NtS services in France The new version of the application integrates the generation of NtS into the xml format (CCNR Standard Edition 2.0 / Commission Regulation (EC) N 416/2007 XML_v2_7.xsd). The new system works in the following way: Description of the system Xml message ftm wrm icem VNF Website Creation of Nts Subscription VNF Operators Users / Skippers Figure 11: Notices to Skippers (France) According to the type of event, the application generates the type of concerned NtS: Fairway and traffic messages Water related messages Ice messages On the VNF website 3 links are available: NTS Search, NTS Map and NTS Subscription. VNF has developed a French route planner which takes into account NTS. If there is a navigation stop on the shorter route, the tool plans another one. This new service is available on VNF website since August IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 71 of 126

72 VNF has developed a NTS map on which you can see NTS represented in 4 colours (navigation stop, navigation restriction, information, others) If you click on 1 point, you can see the main description of NTS and if you click on the NTS number to see the pdf NTS. This service is available on VNF Website ( Pilot implementation of international exchange of NtS data o Implementation of the platform of exchanges of data: January 2011 o Definition of the contract of interface: unimplemented o Computing developments: unimplemented o Tests: unimplemented o Beginning of the implementation: unimplemented Documentation Title Content Organisation Inventory_SuAc1 3_FR.doc IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc1 3_Evaluation_NtS_user_quest ionnaire_fr.doc IRIS- Europe_II_Report_Template_ 2_FR.doc IRIS- Europe_II_Report_Template_ 3_FR.doc SuAc1.3 report Inventory of NtS implementation at the start of sub activity Public survey focused on requirements towards RIS services in France System documentation of pilot implementation of specified enhanced NtS services in France System documentation of pilot implementation of international exchange of NtS data VNF VNF VNF VNF SuAc partners Table 4-6: Documentation of results SuAc 1.3 France Status / comment Final Final Final Final FR contribution provided Benefits The implementation of enhanced version of NtS application offers benefits mainly for the NtS users: user-friendliness of the web interface (map, subscription, ) new services (xml distribution, voyage planning, NtS map) The international exchange of NtS data has not been fully implemented but will have as advantages the display of NtS from other countries on the national public web interface. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 72 of 126

73 4.4.6 Results (Hungary) The Hungarian Notices to Skippers application has been upgraded according to the specifications described in the Commission Regulation (EC) No 416/2007 of 22 March 2007 concerning the technical specifications for Notices to Skippers as referred to in Article 5 of Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on harmonised river information services (RIS) on inland waterways in the Community. The service provides the following functions available through the PannonRIS system according to the XSD version 3.0 (as defined within Task 1 in the SAP): Fairway and traffic messages Water level messages Ice messages Weather related messages The following diagram shows the main use cases within the NtS application: Figure 12: NtS use cases (Hungary) There are several ways to input information into the NtS application since an administration interface has also been implemented (mainly for backup usage): FTM messages are supposed to be issued by the National Transport Authority in a standardized way and transferred to the RIS Centre in the standardized XML format. Water level and ice information is received from VITUKI via an FTP connection and published on the portal. Within the weather information domain two fields will be tested: fog and visibility. For both types of information the planning and design of equipment and the integration of the information into the PannonRIS system has started. As of Task 2 according to the SAP the following webservice use cases are available: IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 73 of 126

74 registration with an address to the NtS service; subscription for selected NtS information. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment PannonRIS system specification Requirement specification Design specification Test specification Development Environment Setup Installation and Configuration Guide The PannonRIS system specification includes the legal and project background, the use cases, system architecture and component related details in annexes. This is written in Hungarian. Both functional and non-functional specification is described. About half of the document is Hungarian and the other half is English. This specification contains details about how the system should be created. Written in Hungarian. This specification contains the list of the test cases, written in Hungarian. It deals with both functional and non-functional test cases. Describes how the development environment should be installed. Contains technical details. This is written in English. Describes how the system should be installed and configured. Written in English. RSOE RSOE RSOE RSOE RSOE RSOE Table 4-7: Documentation of results SuAc 1.3 Hungary There are several annexes of this document for the following: AIS ERI NtS ECDIS HULL Connections This document set consists of 3 parts: General description Detailed functional specification Detailed nonfunctional specification This document set is also divided into several documents The document contains only the list of the test cases, but not the details. The details are written and managed in the local TRAC system. Contains low-level technical details. Contains low-level technical details. Benefits The main benefits of the Hungarian NtS application are the following: IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 74 of 126

75 automatic procession of information; data communication channels set up with the responsible organisations; display of information on the PannonRIS portal; online water level information (this service has proven to be the most useful according to the feedback from skippers and other users); webservice possibilities. Hungary has gained several experiences through taking part in the works of the NtS Expert Group and its task forces. Figure 13: Screenshot from the PannonRIS NtS application / water level information Results (the Netherlands) The Netherlands participated in this sub activity as observer. Therefore the Netherlands did not perform a pilot implementation. The Netherlands did participate in discussions about user friendliness of NtS and issues regarding web services. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Inventory of NtS implementation Inventory of NtS implementation at the start of sub activity Rijkswaterstaat Final Table 4-8: Documentation of results SuAc 1.3 the Netherlands Benefits As the Netherlands did participate in this sub activity as observer, no particular benefits where reached from this sub activity. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 75 of 126

76 4.4.8 Results (Romania) The Enhanced Notices Skippers has started to be implemented in a pilot sector from Gruia to Calafat (km 790 to 851) from the Romanian Danube. Basically the NTS system will provide extended information about weather on the pilot sector, the other information (i.e. fairway are provided by the national authority), but the system will have the capabilities to provide the standard messages if needed. For these requirements automated meteorological stations have been installed to Gruia and Calafat. The meteorological stations collect in real time parameters regarding the speed of wind, visibility, temperature, water level and water temperature. All the information is aggregated inside a database. Special events regarding the information provided by the sensors are triggered by the system using predefined values. When case (i.e. visibility is lower than a defined value) an automatic notice to skipper regarding the visibility is generated and an human operator will validate it to eliminate the false positive messages Currently, the weather sensors are installed and run in Gruia and Calafat. Al the sensors are up and running, and the weather data is aggregated on a central server in Giurgiu. The NtS interface and the automatic message generator are currently in tests. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment System design and analysis Document which define the system architecture and software requirements CSR Implementation plan Gantt chart CSR Software and hardware implementation report Internal test report Configuration and installation report Functional testing report Implementation results, software used for communication, database, website Report regarding the internal tests done by the contractor Report containing the information needed for system exploration (architecture, connection routes, software) Information regarding the tests carried out by the contractor and AFDJ for the system acceptance CSR CSR CSR CSR Table 4-9: Documentation of results SuAc 1.3 Romania Delivered by the contractor Delivered by the contractor To be delivered by the contractor To be delivered by the contractor To be delivered by the contractor To be delivered by the contractor Benefits The system will be able to provide valuable information about the weather condition to the skippers in the pilot section. In the same time the system will provide real time information to the naval authorities which will be able to decide more efficient if a navigation restriction is mandatory. By aggregating the information provided by the sensors and correlating that information with different NtS, information about the specific meteorological condition can be extracted and correlated with the water reading, in the future. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 76 of 126

77 4.4.9 Results (Slovakia) Within the Sub Activity Enhanced Notices to Skippers, the whole new version of NtS application has been developed in Slovakia. Based on the working experience with the previous version of NtS application, it was decided to implement the enhanced version of the NtS application within the new technology environment. New functionality has been implemented as well. Enhanced NtS application Technology related enhancements: For this purpose Java programming language and the GWT development framework Google web toolkit has been chosen in order to achieve more reliable and maintainable system. The new development technology enabled big improvement of the NtS application from the point of view of speed, reliability, accessibility and also user friendliness. Technical specification: The enhanced version of NtS application supports the XSD version 3.0 (as proposed for the upcoming amendment of the Technical Specifications for NtS), including the Reference Tables version 3.0 and Supports the provision of following types of messages: Fairway and traffic related message (FTM) Water related message (WRM) Ice message (ICEM) Weather related message (WERM). The enhanced version of NtS application makes use of web service implementation for following purposes: International exchange of NtS messages Enhanced version of NtS application in its pilot implementation supports the web service definition for international data exchange (NtS-WS , CR 100 accepted on 13 th September 2011) as agreed within the task force NtS Web Service Task Force Collection of raw data from hydro-meteorological sources On national level, agreement has been reached with provider of hydro-meteo related data, the Slovak Hydro Meteorological Institute (SHMU) and web services for data collection enabling automatic WRM and WERM creation, have been implemented. Link to the National reference data management system Communication via web service is also implemented for the interconnection of the enhanced version of NtS application with the National reference data management system (for the purposes of automatic exchange and provision of RIS index related data). Functionality related enhancements (general summary of functionality): Enhanced workflow for creation and publication of NtS messages o Several states of NtS message creation distinguished: drafted, finished, published o Saving of drafted NtS messages for editors o Reminder functionality for publishers Enhanced user management (user groups and user roles) for the administrator of NtS application o CRUD functionality create, read, update, delete o Different user groups specified Nonregistered users can search and view notices Registered users in addition these users can subscribe to notices to receive notifications IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 77 of 126

78 Editors and Publishers users responsible for creation and publishing of notices Administrators users responsible for application settings, user management and RIS index management Enhanced management of subscriptions to service for following NtS message types/formats: o FTM full text, code format, XML o WRM full text, code format, XML o ICEM full text, code format, XML o WERM code format, XML International search of NtS messages (AT, DE) Enhanced maintenance of national RIS index data and NtS reference tables for the NtS administrator Login to the NtS application with usage of OpenID (SlovRIS OIP provider) standard is supported Figure 14: Public web interface of the enhanced NtS application in Slovakia Testing Testing was performed in cooperation with SPS (State Navigation authority). Both functionality tests (message creation, user interaction including user and account management, RIS index management and more) and technical testing (web service connections, mail server availability, speed, security) were performed during Q1-Q2/2011. Results of tests are summarized in the separate deliverable of the SuAc1.3 (see below table). IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 78 of 126

79 Currently, the enhanced version of NtS application is available at the following URL (subject to change): Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc1.3 D1 Survey evaluation_v0p5_final_en.doc IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc1.3 D2a System documentation for enhanced-ntsservice_v0p5_final_en.doc Test documentation IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc1.3 D3a System documentation for web services_v0p3_final_en.doc web_sluzby_iris_v_1_1.pdf web_sluzby_iris_xmlapi.pdf Public survey focused on requirements towards RIS services in Slovakia System documentation of pilot implementation of specified enhanced NtS services in Slovakia Results of tests for enhanced NtS application (D2b) System documentation of pilot implementation of international exchange of NtS data Technical specification of WS for retrieval of the hydro-meteo data for the purpose of NtS application KIOS KIOS KIOS KIOS SHMÚ Table 4-10: Documentation of results SuAc 1.3 Slovakia Final EN version Final EN and SK version Final EN version Final EN and SK version Final SK version In addition to the official project deliverables, for the purposes of State Navigation Administration and for users of NtS application themselves; several user manuals have been created: Benefits NtS Administrator manual NtS Editor manual NtS Installation manual NtS Security manual NtS User manual Successful implementation of enhanced version of NtS application offers several benefits for the NtS authority, but also to the NtS users as the most important target group. Enhanced NtS provides users with various benefits: More comfortable and faster work in general Improved search and display of list of NtS messages providing fast and clean way of finding desired messages RIS index management system User management system Ability to provide national notices to foreign systems (e.g. international FIS portals, foreign NtS and other applications) IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 79 of 126

80 Last but not least, also for the organisation in charge of NtS application maintenance several benefits can be identified. The application makes use of the state-of-the-art development technologies enabling provision of more reliable and maintainable code. Developers and application maintainers can deliver updates and fixes faster than ever. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 80 of 126

81 4.5 Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps Experiences and conclusions NtS Encoding: It was experienced that content of FTM messages varies tremendously between different countries. International harmonization of the content of FTM, WRM, ICEM, WERM messages is necessary. Data input for NtS services: For the reliability of NtS and its acceptance by fairway users the quality of the information used as input for the NtS services is crucial. Systems for NtS compilation and distribution should use easy configurable solutions, because the NtS standard is worked on continuously and new amendments are foreseen. Implementation of technologies for automatic data transfer from sensors (gauges, meteo stations etc.) significantly spares time, human work, errors and is a generally good solution. Specific emphasis should be laid on data quality checks, because due to failures on sensors, data transmissions etc. wrong data could be detected, resulting in unreliable information distributed through NtS that confuses fairway users. Large number of inputs could improve information quality, but it needs sophisticated evaluation before distribution to users who need simple information via NtS. Mathematical models are a modern solution that could help the decision process by RIS authorities. With usage of on-line data from a network of sensors on waterways it is possible to model water flows and ice situation with relatively good accuracy and reliability. Models that run several times per day could detect future important situations on time, with good advance for reactions. There are no significant methods for prediction of fog situation on waterways, in particular in narrow, deep and winding valleys, where classic weather forecast models give different predictions. For navigation safety information about fog is very important. NtS data interchange: For international exchange of NtS messages and provision of proper search functions information about foreign waterway networks is required. The RIS Index and waterway network information is to be exchanged between countries participating in the international NtS data exchange. User friendliness is an important task for NtS services. A solution for user friendly provisioning of NtS is to create a European central NtS display. Such a central display would provide fairway users with relevant NtS on their whole journey without borders,. Web Services are used for pull services of NtS data. These services could easily be used as a basis for the European central NtS display. For push services there is not yet a common solution. Successful implementation of enhanced version of NtS systems offers several benefits for the NtS authority, but also to the NtS users as the most important target group. The cooperation with Germany was very successful especially with respect to the specification and implementation of the NtS web service and within the task force user friendly NtS IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 81 of 126

82 4.5.2 Recommendations NtS Encoding: The NtS encoding guide should be reworked in order to provide unambiguous and clear guidelines for NtS editors creating NtS messages. This task could be carried out within the task force user friendly NtS. Data input for NtS services: The input data should be checked in order to guarantee the quality of information published through NtS services, in order to supply reliable information to the fairway users. Systems for NtS distribution should be easily amendable in case of changes in the NtS standard. Also compatibility between versions of the standard should be supported by NtS systems, because the on board systems generally do not update instantly when a new version of the standard is implemented in NtS distribution systems. Incompatibility could lead to unavailability of important information and could lead to a threat for navigation safety. NtS should use automatically detected, transferred and evaluated data where possibly, e.g. water levels, weather situation, lock operation status. However manual quality checks are needed in order to avoid failures and wrong values. A completely automated system (without human control) could be risky in non-standard situations. Mathematical modelling needs large number of data inputs that improve prediction quality. For stable operation system must overcome temporary failures of particular data inputs. Special emphasis should be done on general forecast modelling, as weather and hydrological models that in many cases have crucial impact on forecast quality of phenomena on waterways. NtS data interchange: According to results from pilot implementation and operation of NtS data interchange by WS between project partners of IRIS Europe II, the WS standard for NtS should be amended and all partners should implement the latest standard. A central European display for NtS should be established. This central display would enable borderless searching for NtS for a whole journey (through different countries). The proposed technical solution for collecting NtS data from the different countries is the pull service as defined in the NtS WS standard. It should be investigated whether a push service should be specified within the NtS WS. A push service would support a different approach for the central European display. In the current approach the central display will periodically check availability of new NtS at each connected country through pull services. Experiences gained in the NEWADA Danube FIS portal approach shall be considered as the basis for further development. Furthermore the project partners from the Czech Republic have following recommendations: The model of ice phenomena was successfully tested especially for the phase of the prediction of the beginning of the frost period. To improve its reliability during the course of ice phenomena and at the end of the frost period when the ice cover melts, it will be necessary to improve the data provision for the current state of ice phenomena (type and thickness) on the part of managers of the waterway. It is recommended to verify the model behaviour during next winter period. For collecting of weather and operational status information on waterway is important to use compatible sensor and data transmission solution with enough reliability. It would be helpful and convenient to introduce future users of all similar models not only to the results of one particular project, but also to the modelling issues in general, not forgetting both the new possibilities that are on offer and the difficulties that comes along with this approach. We do believe that this raising of awareness would reduce the distrust and improve the applicability of model results in practice. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 82 of 126

83 4.5.3 Envisioned next steps Further interconnection of national NtS systems, in the first step especially at least between the neighbouring countries. The pilot operation should be regularly monitored in detail in order to have input for future improvements on information quality. There could be implemented a central European display for NtS, connected by WS with national systems, that provides single window NtS search to fairway users. It is recommended to enhance the cooperation of stakeholders implementing various NtS WS. It is recommended to continue in development and enhancement of national NtS infrastructure based on the experiences and feedback from the NtS users National next steps Czech Republic has following next steps: The whole waterway should be covered by monitoring network of weather conditions (wind, temperature, fog, humidity) and operational status (locks, weirs status, discharge, water levels) Developed mathematical models for water flow and ice phenomena on waterway should be recalibrated after several months on the bases of recorded real data. Each recalibration will improve a quality of forecasts. Specific topic is the research of effective forecast model for fog on waterways, including transformation of temperature forecasts into valleys. France has following next steps: The structure which will allow the exchanges of Notices to Skippers by Web service is ready in France. The constraints of deadline did not allow France to set up in a operational way these exchanges. Nevertheless France wishes to pursue the introduced works except the context IRIS II. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 83 of 126

84 5 SuAc 1.4 Wireless RIS Services for fairway users Background information This SuAc deals with wireless RIS Services for fairway users based upon wireless broadband technologies such as WiFi or WiMAX. There is a need to improve access to the Internet for fairway users on specific hot spots in order to grant optimised access to the provided RIS Services. Objectives In order to increase the acceptance and usage of RIS services by RIS users, mainly focusing on skippers, it is intended to introduce wireless connection to access the Internet. The wireless access points - hotspots - shall comprise areas important for navigation, such as ports, or reporting points such as captaincies and locks. Two types of services shall be investigated as starting point: Work approach A free-of-charge, where required secured, gateway to access various RIS services (notices to skippers, electronic reporting, water level information, provision of electronic navigational charts etc.) A gateway with selective access to have access to other websites The organisations in charge of implementing the project in their countries were responsible for the national implementation of the systems and infrastructures within SuAc 1.4 according to available relevant WLAN Standards. Clarifications of technical details were done in meetings among the partners involved. States of progress were presented at the regular IRIS Europe coordination meetings and also made available to the IRIS Europe consortium by means of SuAc reports, also enabling the provision of feedback from partners not directly involved in the SuAc. A summary of all main technical outcomes is provided in the final technical report, whereas each partner was responsible for the individual input. Results The main outcomes of the SuAc 1.4 are: Implemented and operational WLAN zones on strategic places Development of a RIS portal to gather RIS services in one website Use of the most common WLAN standards for a higher compliance with skippers equipments Conclusions & Recommendations The main conclusions of the SuAc 1.4 are: Special attention is required to reach cooperation agreement to install WLAN network (technical-legal aspects) Install a system using the most common technologies in order to ensure compliance with the users equipment For the RIS portal, choose software with an multi-language GUI At the legal level, there is an obligation in terms of transmission power of wireless terminals, storage of connection data and hot spots declaration IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 84 of 126

85 5.1 Background information Requirements The main necessity of this topic is to increase the usage of RIS services by RIS users, with a gateway of various services. The system must be a solution especially for foreign skippers using a 3G connection (Roaming costs) in another country. The specific requirements are: a free-of-charge gateway to access RIS services a relevant localisation (ports, locks, etc.) for the access points a system to manage web access The use of recognized standards Preliminary work The Netherlands identified the need of WLAN services in the beginning of During the period of 2002 and 2004, RWS (Rijkswaterstaat) established, in close cooperation with commercial suppliers, a comprehensive pilot in Zeeland to gain empirical experience with the use of WLAN technology. The main objective was to define the technical requirements of a WLAN installation on a lock or bridge and the operational costs and the effects on the environment of such an installation. A shored-based WLAN implementation was also experimented in Germany. The two pilot sites were located on the Moselle River (Koblenz) and on the Danube River (Straubing) Challenges This chapter can be divided into several categories: Legal aspects: Each partner has secured obligations with respect to national legislation to implement the wireless network. Harmonisation: Use of the standards of the wireless broadband technologies to keep a harmonisation. Particularity of the Bulgarian and Romanian pilot sites: A particular cooperation was needed because of the proximity of the pilot sites. Cooperation with NEWADA project: Due to the relations between the SuAc 1.4 and NEWADA project, coordination and cooperation was ensured with the relevant partners. There is no special technical difficulty in implementing WLAN services. The technology is nowadays tried and tested (proven technology). The main difficulty depends on the site configuration (bridges, towers, availability of electricity, etc.): this shows the importance of feasibility study at the beginning of the project Other relevant background information The main relation to other IRIS Europe II activities is that wireless access to specific services and information is provided but there is no direct influence to other activities. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 85 of 126

86 5.2 Objectives Specific objectives The main objective was to introduce wireless broadband technologies to provide access to the Internet for fairway users on specific hot spots in order to grant optimised access to the provided RIS Services and thus to increase the acceptance and usage of RIS services by the users The access should focus on RIS services. Consequently no broad public internet is supposed to be offered. Introduced Hotspot Management System should ensure the control over the access to the wireless broadband technologies such as WLAN (WiFi) and WiMAX. This way the operators can authorise specific users to be able to access the internet, or defined services. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of internationally recognized standards, such as IEEE standards for wireless local area network (WLAN) communication and IEEE standards for WiMAX communication. Respective QoS shall be defined and implemented, in order to provide the wireless RIS services Planned tasks and results The planned tasks were: Define pilot implementation sites and elaborate equipment estimates Identify national requirements and elaborate feasibility study for the provision of wireless access (e.g. via WLAN (WiFi), WiMAX) to RIS services, including technologies, security aspects, Quality of Service (including a comparison with mobile Internet via GPRS, EDGE and UMTS, if applicable also LTE), coverage as well as implementation and operation costs Specify pilot implementation of wireless access to RIS Services based on the feasibility study considering the national requirements Plan the pilot implementations of wireless access and, if required by national legislation, consult the related environmental agencies with respect to installations of antennas The results are: Pilot implement wireless access to RIS services based on the specifications Test, pilot operate and evaluate the implemented systems Elaborate conclusions and recommendations out of pilot implementation Elaborate SuAc 1.4 report describing the work that was done and the achieved results Feasibility study for provision of wireless access to RIS, incl. definition of wireless broadband (network) technologies suitable for implementation (1 report) Specification of pilot implementation of wireless access to RIS (1 report by country) Pilot implementation and test of wireless access to RIS (1 report by country) Conclusions and recommendations out of pilot implementations and documented results (1 report) Amended tasks and results During feasibility study, the initially selected sites were either removed or replaced. The feasibility study showed that the number of boats passages was too low or the type of sites was too complex. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 86 of 126

87 5.3 Work approach SuAc partners Country Partner organisation Role within SuAc Responsibility France Voies Navigables de France SuAc leader Belgium Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary Romania Slovakia WenZ - Waterwegen en Zeekanaal NV Bulgarian Port Infrastructure Co. RVCCR RSOE - National Association of Radio Distress-Signalling and Infocommunications AFDJ - Administratia Fluviala a Dunarri de Jos Galarti KIOS s.r.o. Implementing partner Implementing partner Implementing partner Implementing partner Implementing partner Implementing partner Austria Via Donau Observer Netherlands Rijkswaterstaat Observer SuAc coordination; national SuAc execution National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot Follow the work and results of SuAc; provide feedback and input Follow the work and results of SuAc; provide feedback and input, provided input at the beginning of the project Table 5-1: Partners SuAc Work approach Feasibility studies and specifications were presented at the IRIS Europe II coordination meetings and also made available to the IRIS Europe II PMT by means of SuAc reports. A summary of all main technical outcomes is provided in the final technical report, whereas each partner was responsible for the individual input. The work was organised on national level, due to the highly technical project and the progress state of the partners, but coordinated Meetings Two meetings were held for this SuAc. Expert workshop was held in January 2010 (Paris) between all the partners including Deutschland and the Netherlands. The respective delegations gave a presentation of the experimentations conducted in their country: this gave the foundation work and the orientation of the SuAc. The results of this workshop were mainly: Choice of technologies to use; Discussion on the area to be covered (coverage in the lock, around the lock); Discussion on the national legal aspects; List of RIS on the RIS portal. Another meeting was held in Budapest in cooperation with NEWADA project. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 87 of 126

88 5.4 Results Results (Belgium) Flanders has provided input for the first deliverable, i.e. Feasibility Study for provision of wireless access to RIS services. Two others documents were under national responsibility. Flanders has pilot implemented two locks, i.e. Evergem en Wijnegem, with WLAN-infrastructure to offer basic services (as it was foreseen in the SuAc). Both locks were operational during the summer of 2011, so an evaluation could not be made because of the deadline in September 2011 for IRIS II. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Feasibility Study for provision of wireless access to RIS services. Specifications of Implementation Pilot Implementation Wireless RIS Services for fairway users based upon wireless broadband technologies Feasibility study for two locks: Evergem and Wijnegem. Practical approach towards the realisation Realisation off wireless access on both WenZ (co-author) WenZ (author) WenZ (author) Overview of complete SuAc WenZ (co-author) Finished Finished Finished Table 5-2: Documentation of results SuAc 1.4 Belgium Benefits The benefits at the end of the activity are restricted to a narrow service towards the skippers, i.e. access to only internal applications and websites. The responsible authorities gained expertise with the installation procedure of access points, i.e. the timing to realise it, the configuration of access points, involved parties allowing incorporating this experience in their own regional implementation across Flanders. Since both locks have many passages of vessels, although it was a pilot implementation a lot of skippers could benefit the first steps of this rather small scale project. Skippers can now easily access the portal for Notices to Skippers which is our primary channel to communicate the actual status of our network with skippers. By offering these services, connection costs for roaming for foreign skippers can be reduced and stimulate the use of our NtS-portal. Since realisation only took place in August 2011, a period of evaluation was not possible. The evaluation of the pilot implementation will be elaborated outside IRIS II, also to incorporate feedback and proposals of skippers in the regional implementation of WLAN in Flanders. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 88 of 126

89 5.4.2 Results (Bulgaria) One pilot project is realized in the territory of river port of Rouse. A WiFi network has been established and covers the fairway from 493 km. to 497 km. The network provides access to certain web pages, which are in help to skippers. The pilot project was developed with cooperation with Romanian partners from AFDJ in order to coordinate the network topology and system s details. It was needed in order to cover longer stretch. The network infrastructure is based on four devices - Motorola AP7181 (shown on figure 1). Figure 15: Motorola AP7181 (Bulgaria) This series is designed for realizing large scale Mesh wireless networks. The equipment is specially design for outdoor mounting. No additional antennas or housing is needed. Devices support IEEE a, b, g, n standards. Each AP7181 has dual RF transmitter - for 2.4 GHz and 5.4 GHz. The 2.4 GHz b, g, n network is used to ensure service for clients. 5.4GHz is used for Mesh network that connects every AP7181 in between. The wireless network is attached to external network (Internet) via only one AP7181. The network has topology as shown on figure 2. Figure 16: wireless network topology (Bulgaria) IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 89 of 126

90 Figure 17: WLAN infrastructure (Bulgaria) The installation sites have been chosen in order to ensure optimal coverage area. Average distance between sites is around 1 km. Additional factors like power supply source, height and secure site (limited civil access) had been taken into consideration in site selection. Original kits are used to ensure proper and reliable mounting of devices. Pre-design analysis showed coverage like shown on figure 3. Figure 18: wireless coverage (Bulgaria) Results with client laptop with n network card shows receiving signal and existing N network. Figure 19: WLAN signal status (Bulgaria) IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 90 of 126

91 A Network Management Software NMS is provided to the wireless network. The software is released by Motorola and is called One Point Wireless Manager. It is an integrated system for monitoring of WiFi infrastructure performance and network management. Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment IRIS_Europe_II_SuAc_1.4_Deliverable_ 1_BG IRIS_Europe_II_SuAc_1.4_Deliverable_ 2_BG IRIS_Europe_II_SuAc_1.4_Deliverable_ 3_BG IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc_1.4_ Report_v0p1_BG Feasibility Study for provision of wireless access to RIS services Specifications of pilot implementation Conclusions and recommendations out of pilot implementations SuAc 1.4 Report Wireless RIS Services for fairway users based upon wireless broadband technologies Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Co. Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Co. Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Co. Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Co. Finalized and delivered on Finalized and delivered on Finalized and delivered on Finalized and delivered on Table 5-3: Documentation of results SuAc 1.4 Bulgaria Benefits The WiFi network provides coverage in distance of 5 km along the fairway. It can be accessed from moving vessel. Access to sites and is granted. On later stage, it will be provided access to RIS gateway with additional information services. Services provided by wireless network can be useful for skippers, maintain stuff of the port, anybody involved in the port operation. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 91 of 126

92 5.4.3 Results (Czech Republic) First step on wireless connection to RIS services in CZ was elaboration of detail feasibility study. As base for requirements of RIS Services provided by Wireless connection were defined following services that use internet connection in general: NtS for all users Voyages planning for profi users (registered) Meteo information for all users ERINOT for profi users (registered) Map info sources for all users Generally CZ services will provide connection: Connection: boat - RIS Connection: boat - owner Connection: boat - customer Connection: crew other info sources (web sources limits and restrictions will be evaluated after test operation) Technically for the pilot in CZ are used b/g standards defined in the general standards. All used radio frequency are without restrictions and could be used in the whole CZ. No any other than standard freq. will be used. Determination of pilot sites was decided on the base of multi-criteria analysis between all places as locks and ports. There were identified following locations with the highest score, where the potential for connection to RIS services is the highest: State border CZ/D Hřensko (reporting point, download of actual water level information) Děčín Loubí public port (significant transhipment volume, free flowing section) Ústí nad Labem Střekov lock chambers, Vaňov public port (nearby) (reporting point, download of actual water level information, border of free flowing section) Praha Smíchov lock chamber with approaches (intensive vessel traffic) Praha Na Františku port of passenger vessels (port for personal ships, high traffic) The system is centralised and supports WLC or equivalent technology supporting one login for all AP over CZ waterways and centralised system of maintenance over all AP s. AP system shares login info with CZ central RIS system LAVDIS, so registered user will have one login for all RIS services in CZ. Communication between AP s is encrypted. Accessibility of services will be defined in CZ RIS system user rights. No WEP is chosen because other costs have to be spent for informing users on waterways (info at locks and ports etc.). HTTPS is also used for several parts of RIS, so it s another standard way for improve system security aspects. As a part of feasibility study there was analysed best potential Wifi points, was done measurement of model data signal with mobile testing hot spots and measured values were evaluated. For main object was prepared signal strength map with defined places for Hotspots and covering area around. In defined points is in implementation installation of 9 AP s, with small antennas on present public infrastructure (building, signal masts on locks, lighting masts etc.) and data connection to central authentication server. That server is installed in RIS authority building and has direct access to CZ RIS IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 92 of 126

93 operation servers and to free internet. Established data connections are used also as data transmission from weather sensors and cameras on field to RIS centre by VPN network. Due to delay in implementation caused by long legal preparations of agreements with land and building owners to provide installation of antennas and analysing of usable technologies for data connection and reorganisation of Waterways Directorate, the pilot operation is strongly reduced. From that reason there are not available experiences from operation, but RIS authority will details monitor usage of wireless access network and results will be during the year Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Demand analysis and Feasibility study Detail analysis of fairway users demand of RIS access, feasibility study of available technology Aures, s. r.o. Finalised Implementation of wireless data access to RIS, pilot operation Implementation of 9 AP and central authentication server, inc. pilot tests In progress, will be finalised till 31 st December 2011 Table 5-4: Documentation of results SuAc 1.4 Czech Republic Benefits The system is centralised and will support WLC or equivalent technology supporting one login for all AP over CZ waterways and centralised system of maintenance over all AP s. This approach and Single Sign On to RIS services is users friendly and cost efficient. WiFi technology is from users attractive due to low costs of access interface, free of charge input to RIS services and relatively high data transfer speed. High potentials are on the borders of free flowing section for download of water levels and actual IENC charts with depth information. Wifi technology is attractive for users due to low costs for access, free of charge input to RIS services and relative high data transfer speed. There are great opportunities and prospects for the free download IENC with depth information and water levels. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 93 of 126

94 5.4.4 Results (France) Three pilot sites have been equipped, they are all mooring areas located in the North of France on the high capacity waterway. Due to radio perturbations in locks (as mentioned in German and Dutch presentations at the Workshop Expert meeting) and for safety reasons, VNF won t attempt to give access to entire public Internet in the lock. The implemented standards are IEEE b, g. The equipments are also complaint with IEEE (a, n). Equipment monitoring was set up with a recovery alert. Note, that the access point can be upgraded with a camera. The infrastructure can be used for video surveillance in the future. The system is operational since summer of An information campaign will begin in the last quarter of this year, and evaluation will be conducted during The RIS portal is the gateway to services for the skippers and will be reachable on November. The base of the portal is Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server. The portal offers: Integration of service modules of information related to navigation (Map of locks, VNF travel application, Notices to skippers, download of ENC, etc.) Links to other information portals river ( border countries portals...). The portal offers a choice of four languages: French, English, German and Dutch. This portal provides access to information that may come in some cases from a platform for exchange of data (EAI). Figure 20: description of pilot site IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 94 of 126

95 Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment SuAc1 4-Deliverable 1- Feasability study SuAc1 4-Deliverable 2- Specifications of implementation FR v1 IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc 1.4-D3-Pilot implementation FR Netabord-documentation sites wifi Feasibility and location of the pilot sites Document basis for the elaboration of the tender Description of the pilot implementation WiFi network and RIS portal Technical configuration and report of the installations VNF VNF VNF VNF Final/available Final/available Final/available Final/available Table 5-5: Documentation of results SuAc 1.4 France Benefits As the system will be fully operational for the end of the year, it is early to define real benefits. However, provide a free of charge access to the skippers will encourage them to use RIS. The portal will be enriched by new services which can be personalised by regions. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 95 of 126

96 5.4.5 Results (Hungary) In the framework of IRIS Europe II project on the Csepel (1639 rkm) section of Danube a three-cell WLAN network and on the Baja ( rkm) section of Danube a two-cell WLAN network were installed, both meeting the requirements of IEEE b/g. The access points are based on the Mikrotik Routerboard RB433 with CM9 cards and Atlas panel antennas. Figure 21: WLAN architecture (Hungary) Figure 22: WLAN infrastructure (Hungary) Figure 23: WLAN system setup (Hungary) IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 96 of 126

97 Results of coverage tests The measurement was taken with two different laptops with two wireless network connection of different kind. The coverage of the WLAN network was checked with the MetaGeek inssider 2.07 programme. The integrated wireless network card of the computers was used as a measurement device. The results were quite impressive, especially the coverage area length at Baja. Figure 24: WLAN overview (Hungary) Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Contract between RSOE and SzigetCom Installation notes, specification Contract on technical installation service Technical note on the installation and coverage RSOE, SzigetCom SzigetCom available available Table 5-6: Documentation of results SuAc 1.4 Hungary Benefits After the installations, the users at Csepel and Baja are able to use the network to support their daily work. Beside professional skippers the leisure boats and related authorities (e.g. water police) also benefit of the operation of the network. Users will be asked to provide their feedback and more websites can be added on demand to improve their workflow. In the future automatic push service can be also provided or special intranet services. The two sites at the most dense areas in Hungary will improve the information flow and will support the dissemination of latest RIS results as well. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 97 of 126

98 5.4.6 Results (Romania) Purpose of network Romanian network was implemented in Galati, Giurgiu and Calafat. WiFi network provides access for navigators to the following services: Public access to RIS Portals. Secured access (VPN) to AFDJ internal network. The WiFi network is designed to be: Modular minimum MTTR (Mean Time To Repair) or upgrade with minimal expenses Configurable - limit/permit access to services/ users Scalable - extending coverage and future WiFi networks integration just by adding additional modules. Future integration with Newada Locations Considered WiFi coverage areas in this project are: # Location Type of location Length of fairway covered* 1. Giurgiu (RO) port 7 10 km 2. Galati (RO) port 7 10 km 3. Calafat (RO) port 3 4 km *depending by client position on the vessel, inside or outside the cabin System summary Network topology is Star configuration type and it is divided into an Access Network that assures the access for users (skippers) to required services, through the standard a / b / g / n and a Transport Network. Considering the proposed network architecture, the Romanian WiFi pilot network was implemented according to a radio propagation study done for Giurgiu, Galati and Calafat. In order to achieve the project minimum requirements (min 1Mbps for a/b/g/n standard for RIS users on the certain length of fairway), the number of installed Access Points sites is as follows: Giurgiu - 6 AP sites Galati - 7 AP sites Calafat - 3 AP sites Ideally, the distance between radio AP sites should be equidistant, but due to objective reasons regarding the ownership of locations, the best compromise was done, to achieve the WiFi minimum performance requirements. Equipment The equipment used for the Access Network is Motorola AP650 with 2GHz and 5 GHz radio, 3x3 MIMO dual-band panel antenna (8dBi) and Motorola RFS Controller. Key Features of using Motorola AP650 and RFS Controller: Dual Band MIMO (2x3) AP supporting all Wi-Fi standards: a/b/g/n SMART RF feature that automatically optimises power and channel selection so each user gets always-on high-quality access and mobility. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 98 of 126

99 300 Mbps bandwidth The user is automatically associated with the best AP. The hand-over between AP s is made automatically and transparent to the user, no need for AP re-association and data flow interruptions. High radio receiver sensitivity (-95 dbm@1mbps) increasing the AP radio coverage MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) over 40 years Radio coverage tests Radio coverage tests were conducted in Galati, Giurgiu and Calafat. The results are shown in the coverage maps below. Services tested: RIS Portals Secure connection to AFDJ internal network Internet connection Figure 25: Coverage map for Giurgiu Figure 26: Coverage map for Galati Figure 27: Coverage map for Calafat IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 99 of 126

100 Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Phase 1: Conception and design Project Management Plan for the Wireless RIS Services for fairway users conception and design phase Report on technological context and user requirements for Wireless RIS Services for fairway users Report on design and functional specifications of a Wireless RIS Services for fairway users Report on global evaluation plan of the Wireless RIS Services for fairway users Description of phases Roles and responsibilities Description of deliverables Activities sequencing Milestones Description of the most relevant problems Description of risks Description of the project requirements Description of the user requirements Description of the Beneficiary s requirements Future actions Recommendations Presentation of the concept Description of the geographical pilot area chosen for implementation General presentation of the pilot system proposal Description of the general concept architecture Presentation and description of the state chart diagram of the system Description of the data flow Design of the information system Detailed functional specifications Detailed description of the Equipment requirements Recommendations for implementation General description of the proposed testing procedure for the pilot system General presentation of the proposed objectives of the testing procedure Description of the proposed roles involved in the testing procedure Presentation of the proposed deliverables to be issued during the testing period Presentation of the proposed global performance indicators of the pilot system Knowledge Design Unit (KDU) Knowledge Design Unit (KDU) Knowledge Design Unit (KDU) Knowledge Design Unit (KDU) delivered and accepted delivered and accepted delivered and accepted delivered and accepted IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 100 of 126

101 Phase 2: Pilot system implementation Set of documents containing relevant data with regard to pilot system implementation, having the following structure: Wireless RIS Services for fairway users pilot system implementation documentation Pilot system functional specifications: Implementation activities initial Gantt chart: Pilot system development report, containing specific development activities information addressing the contractor s effort Contractor s internal test report Pilot system installation and configuration report Functional testing report CSR Table 5-7: Documentation of results SuAc 1.4 Hungary Partially delivered Benefits The main benefits reached at the end of the SuAc 1.4, for Romania, are: Creation of a communication infrastructure in 3 geographical areas that will allow fairway users to access RIS resources, (portals, information, maps, WLI Webservices, etc). The infrastructure allows also the access to internal resources of AFDJ for personnel on measurements vessels, improving with SuAc 1.1 the time of ENC s generation. Involvement of the experts in the specific activities (authorities, operational personnel, responsible persons, independent experts), generating a distinct initiative at national level to the benefit of authorities and final users of the infrastructure Creation of a comprehensive documented knowledge base consisting of information included in the reports. This base can and must be used by the national responsible authorities for further development of the infrastructure IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 101 of 126

102 5.4.7 Results (Slovakia) Activities carried out in Slovakia within the Sub Activity Wireless RIS Services for fairway users based upon wireless broadband technologies were focused on pilot implementation of wireless access to selected RIS services in selected locations in Slovakia. For this purpose, following locations have been selected, due to the following reasons: Port of Bratislava biggest inland port in Slovakia. Those locations are covered with WiFi, where vessels usually stops and are anchored for a longer period of time, so that the skipper has the time either to browse the internet and look for information which is necessary for the safe continuation of the voyage or to provide necessary reports electronically. Figure 28: Proposed AP locations in the Port of Bratislava Lock complex Gabčíkovo the only lock complex in Slovakia. All the vessels transiting the lock complex have to stop there. Figure 29: Proposed AP location in the Lock complex Gabčíkovo IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 102 of 126

103 Figure 30: Examples of installed WiFi components in the port of Bratislava Accessible services: For the pilot implementation of provision the access to RIS services via WiFi in these locations, access to the following (inter)national RIS services and RIS related web sites/portal will be possible free of charge: Notices to Skippers Slovak, Austrian and Hungarian NtS application; International RIS portals a RIS related web sites SlovRIS, DoRIS, PannonRIS, NEWADA FIS portal; Download of electronic navigational charts various sites, where the download of Slovak, Austrian and Hungarian electronic navigational charts is possible (D4D portal in the future); Access to the national RIS Data Gateway (various functionality for registered users provision of electronic voyage&cargo reports ERINOT, monitoring of own vessels positions, search for vessels based on R2D2 procedures, Calamity abatement, Hull database, etc.) However, in principle, range of services and web sites to which the connection shall be available is not fixed and will be configurable by the system administrator. Technical details concerning pilot implementation are included in separate official deliverables of project IRIS Europe II (see below table D2 and D3). IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 103 of 126

104 Documentation Title Content Organisation Feasibility study IRIS-Europe-II_SuAc1.4_D2_System specifications_slovakia_v1p0_final_en.doc IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc1.4 D3_System documentation and Test documentation_v0p5_final_sk.doc Feasibility study for pilot implementation of WiFi at the proposed location in Slovakia (D1) System specification of pilot implementation Description of technical solution of WiFi network design in Port of Bratislava and lock of Gabcikovo KIOS KIOS ALEF Distribution SK/KIOS Status / comment Final EN version Final EN version Final SK version Table 5-8: Documentation of results SuAc 1.4 Slovakia Benefits Pilot implementation and installation of the wireless access to selected RIS services will contribute to the overall objective of Sub Activity 1.4 which aims at the increase of acceptance and usage of RIS services by RIS users, mainly focusing on skippers. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 104 of 126

105 5.5 Conclusions / Recommendations / Envisioned next steps Experiences and conclusions The main findings, experiences and conclusions which were gained during the implementation phase: In order to provide a good coverage and in the same time to be compliant with the radio regulations (obligation not to exceed 100 mw for EIRP in the bandwidth 2.5 GHz), the access points need to be placed as close as possible from the fairway. One of the crucial points was to reach the cooperation agreement with the owner of the location. Sometimes a private company is a better solution than the state owned (or partly state-owned) organisations. If the owners of the installations and sites are the same, there is no problem in this way. However, it should check the permissions to the installation of masts: from a certain height, permits are required by regulations of the countries. The infrastructure providing Wireless RIS Services for fairway users can be implemented using COTS (Commercial On The Shelf) equipment. However, taking into consideration the environment conditions, for a high rate of availability it is necessary to use reliable equipment. It is also an important challenge to have place for the antenna, electricity and uplink possibilities at the optimal position of the planned access point. This can be solved by the use of batteries, recharged at night by the lighting of the lock (FR) or the use of solar panels (RO). Download speed also depends on the computers, which can be really different. Sometimes even 15-20dBm difference can be measured between laptops for example. Town and city areas or industry zones can have high disturbance due to other WLAN networks -e.g. MAHART Container Centre WLAN communication in Csepel Bay2 (Hungary) and lock of Grand-Carré Lille (France). To ensure high availability of remote intervention, GSM modems can be set up on access points. This allows for maintenance even if the Internet network is down. Locations of movable artificial structures (such as cranes in the port) and range of their movements have to be considered during the pilot deployment of Access points for WLAN installations, in order to achieve the sufficient and suitable coverage of the specific locality with WiFi signal Recommendations Environment of the locations has a strong impact on the implementation: o A survey is mandatory to reach a good coverage. Taking in count outdoor conditions: o o Wide temperature range needed for the equipments Remote administration (upgrade, configuration, etc.). Install a system using the most common technologies o The implemented solution should not require the skippers to install specific software to access the Wifi network. The vessels may be equipped with WiFi external antennas, outside the cabin to get better coverage. Legal aspects o o o Obligation with respect to telecommunication authorities Obligation to register hotspot Obligation to keep data traffic (internet infraction) IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 105 of 126

106 o Privacy and telecom law which prescribe that a public or private provider should log all the communication RIS portal - select a solution: o o Which can easily manage multilingualism Compliant with PDA and smart phones Importance of exchanging information o Exchange information with partners who have similar technical characteristics (locations with no own power supply or own network connectivity along the waterway). Homogenisation of SSID s: o It is recommended to use the same SSID for all coverage areas, eventually for all networks implemented in SuAC Envisioned next steps Evaluation of the implementation during 2012 o Because of delays in the project (sites will be fully operational for the end of this year for the most partners), it was not possible to evaluate the installations in detail within IRIS Europe II anymore. Therefore the evaluations will be done under national responsibility in the course of 2012 outside the scope of IRIS Europe II, due the end of the project by December 2011". Offer new services depending on the feedback from the skippers. Harmonised services between cross-border countries will be a great asset for the development and the use of the RIS portals. New functions could be investigated (e.g. push service). Willing of the skippers to access to other services. While no broad public internet is supposed to be offered in the SAP, a larger access may be studied. During the feasibility study, there is a demand from the skippers to have an access to their mailboxes. Indeed, is part of their working organisation. Implementation of new sites and extension of the covered areas. In presentations about the SuAc 1.4, some navigation services have expressed the desire to be equipped with a WiFi network. Likewise, more waiting ports could be covered (e.g. Port of Győr, Hungary). Creation of a navigational sign with a specific logo and place it at the beginning of the covered areas and on electronic navigation charts IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 106 of 126

107 6 SuAc 1.5 Pilot implementation of national Reference Data Management Systems Background information The main requirement in this SuAc was to implement national pilot infrastructure for sophisticated management and maintenance procedures in order to ensure the provision of reliable reference data and to be prepared for the interconnection with the European Reference Data Management System (ERDMS implemented within PLATINA). The most important challenge in this sub-activity (and not only in the project, but in other national processes) was that currently there is no legally binding document describing the RIS Index. Annex I of the RIS Directive lists minimum data requirements that have been fulfilled by several countries in an Excel file called RIS Index. However, this process left too many open doors for implementation. In 2011 the Joint Task Force on the RIS Index started its work that aims to elaborate an unambiguous RIS Index Encoding Guide. This work also contributes to the amendment of the RIS Directive s Annex I. Objectives The main emphasis lied on the implementation of national infrastructures, ready to be interconnected with the European Reference Data Management system as implemented in PLATINA. In this context the SuAc implementing partners (and other countries also encouraged) were focusing on the production of their country s RIS Index that is to be included in ERDMS (connection with SuAc 3.2). Work approach The sub-activity partners have elaborated and approved the implementation plan for this SuAc by November 2009 that is available in version 1p0. As a next step a requirement analysis has been rolled out based on an on-line questionnaire. The questionnaire has been filled out by five countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary. On the basis of the results the report has been elaborated and submitted to the PMT in version 1p1. After this preparation phase the national implementing partners were responsible for the implementation of their national infrastructure (tendering, implementation, national tests, etc.) based on the internationally accepted procedures and standards. Status of national infrastructure, time schedules and planned next steps were exchanged by and in 2011 discussed within the discussions next to the technical task force meetings twice during the year. Results As the result of the works rolled out in this sub-activity all four implementing partners (from Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and the Netherlands) have contributed to the joint works of the SuAc and fulfilled their national implementation tasks. During the requirement analysis phase observer partners also contributed, however, there was no obligation for them to implement any pilot system or service. The detailed national results are to be found in chapters Conclusions & Recommendations The detailed conclusions and recommendations based on the activities of the partners are listed in chapter 9, however, it needs to be stated that based on the experiences further harmonization is necessary in the field of reference data and their management. This can be achieved via co-ordination and further works in the context of: the European Reference Data Management System, update of national IENCs, encoding of the European waterway networks, the works of the Joint Task Force on the RIS Index (especially the update of the RIS Index Encoding Guide). IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 107 of 126

108 6.1 Background information Requirements The main requirement in this SuAc was to implement national pilot infrastructure for sophisticated management and maintenance procedures in order to ensure the provision of reliable reference data and to be prepared for the interconnection with the European Reference Data Management System (ERDMS implemented within PLATINA). It was recommended that all Member States (possibly also Co-operation Partners on a voluntary basis) taking part in the IRIS Europe II project that they provide their RIS Indices, at least of those objects that are listed as priorities by the PLATINA project and the chairs of the RIS Expert Groups, in draft by 31/12/2010, in final version by 30/09/2011. Parallel respective Member States shall define their internal procedures for the production and publication of the national reference data Preliminary work Lacking the required regulatory framework, the RIS Index has been enhanced and maintained mainly by the Notices to Skippers Expert Group, as Notices to Skippers applications make extensive use of data contained in the RIS Index. Lately, driven by the initiative of PLATINA to implement a European Reference Data Management System, the collection, consolidation and provision of uniform and unambiguous waterway network related reference data became more important, and so did the RIS Index as register of such data. Several countries have published their RIS Indexes earlier, but updates were necessary Challenges The most important challenge in this sub-activity (and not only in the project, but in other national processes) was that currently there is no legally binding document describing the RIS Index. Annex I of the RIS Directive lists minimum data requirements that have been fulfilled by several countries in an Excel file called RIS Index. However, this process left too many open doors for implementation. In 2011 the Joint Task Force on the RIS Index started its work that aims to elaborate an unambiguous RIS Index Encoding Guide. This work also contributes to the amendment of the RIS Directive s Annex I Other relevant background information Due to its nature, this SuAc had close relations with other SuAcs of IRIS Europe II: SuAc and SuAc Advanced services for international data exchange and advanced services resulting for maritime navigation, in particular seaports based upon the Technical and Administrative Agreement (TAA): The international exchange of RIS data partly depends on reliable reference data, therefore the reliable reference data shall be provided by SuAc 1.5 to SuAc 3.1 as well in order that the reliable reference data can be integrated in the international RIS data exchange SuAc 3.2 Pilot implementation of interconnection with European Services: Deals with the interconnection to the European Reference Data Management System IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 108 of 126

109 6.2 Objectives Specific objectives Reference data are important part of any RIS system. Data (such as identified in Annex I. of the EU RIS Directive and other RIS relevant data, even those applicable only at national levels) shall be collected, processed and managed nationally and further made available at European level. In order to ensure the provision of reliable reference data, which is also stipulated by the Technical and Administrative Agreement, the management and maintenance procedures and mechanism shall be elaborated on national levels and pilot systems implemented and tested. Changes in reference data do affect all possible RIS applications implemented as distributed systems, such as Notices to Skippers, Electronic Navigational Charts, Tracking and Tracing, or Electronic Reporting. Main emphasis lies on the implementation of national infrastructures, ready to be interconnected with the European Reference Data Management system as implemented in PLATINA. European reference data management procedures should be inline with the results of PLATINA. A key priority is the alignment of the RIS Index with the IENCs, ERI location tables and NtS reference data. The activities are carried out in close cooperation with Sub-Activity 3.2 and in close cooperation with PLATINA Planned tasks and results Planned tasks: Consolidate existing RIS Indices (on national level) and other relevant reference data (e.g. BICS tables) and define minimum requirements and timeframe for the elaboration of the national RIS Indices All participating Member States will be stimulated to publish their current RIS Index by means of the European Reference Data Management Tool Identify reference data to be maintained on national and provided on international level (defined in close cooperation with PLATINA and RIS Expert Groups) Elaborate requirement analysis for national reference data management pilot infrastructure Specify national reference data management pilot infrastructure, including message specifications in close cooperation with PLATINA Pilot implement and test the national reference data management infrastructure Definition of internal procedures for the production and publication of the national reference data done by the respective Member States Planned results: Provide national reference data to different distributed solutions Participate in coordination meetings between PLATINA and IRIS Europe II Co-operation with Joint Task Force on the RIS Index Elaborate SuAc 1.5 report describing the work that was done and the achieved results Requirements analysis o Outcome: 1 document identifying procedures, mechanism, organisational aspects of reference data management, including identification of reference data to be maintained at national levels, considering the country specific requirements, and those to be made available at international level as well as an outline of the necessary tests to be executed o Responsible partner: Activity leader o Active contribution by: Organisations in charge of executing SuAc 1.5 Specification of national reference data management pilot implementation o Outcome: System specifications, 1 per country IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 109 of 126

110 o Responsible partners: Organisations in charge of executing SuAc 1.5 Implementation and test of the national reference data management pilot infrastructure, including database and the communication channels to different distributed solutions o Outcome: System documentation and test documentation of implemented pilot system, 1 per country o Responsible partners: Organisations in charge of executing SuAc 1.5 Documented results o Outcome: SuAc 1.5 report as input for the o Responsible partner: Activity Leader o Active contribution by: Organisations in charge of executing SuAc Amended tasks and results There was a general remark made on Activity 1 level w.r.t. reference data: It is recommended that all Member States (possibly also Co-operation Partners on a voluntary basis) taking part in the IRIS Europe II project that they provide their RIS Indeces, at least of those objects that are listed as priorities by the PLATINA project and the chairs of the RIS Expert Groups, in draft by 31/12/2010, in final version by 30/09/2011. Parallel respective Member States shall define their internal procedures for the production and publication of the national reference data. The following amendments took place related to the planned tasks: All participating Member States will be stimulated to publish their current RIS Index by means of the European Reference Data Management Tool Definition of internal procedures for the production and publication of the national reference data done by the respective Member States Co-operation with Joint Task Force on the RIS Index No amendments took place related to the planned results. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 110 of 126

111 6.3 Work approach SuAc partners Country Partner organisation Role within SuAc Responsibility HU RSOE SuAc leader AT via donau Implementing partner NL RWS Implementing partner SK KIOS Implementing partner BE CETUS Observer HR CRUP Cooperation partner Work approach Table 6-1: Partners SuAc 1.5 SuAc coordination; national SuAc execution National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot National SuAc execution; implementation of pilot Follow the work and results of SuAc; provide feedback and input Follow the work and results of SuAc; provide feedback and input The sub-activity partners have elaborated and approved the implementation plan for this SuAc by November 2009 that is available in version 1p0. As a next step a requirement analysis has been rolled out based on an on-line questionnaire. The questionnaire has been filled out by five countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary. On the basis of the results the report has been elaborated and submitted to the PMT in version 1p1. After this preparation phase the national implementing partners were responsible for the implementation of their national infrastructure (tendering, implementation, national tests, etc.) based on the internationally accepted procedures and standards. Status of national infrastructure, time schedules and planned next steps were exchanged by and in 2011 discussed within the discussions next to the technical task force meetings twice during the year Meetings 4th technical RIS data exchange task force meeting, , Vienna o SuAc 2.7 o SuAc o SuAc 1.5 o Status and plans of interconnection to European Services 5th technical RIS data exchange task force meeting, , Vienna o SuAc 2.7 o SuAc o SuAc 1.5 o Status and plans of interconnection to European Services o o Further R2D2 update (rules for amendment of the ARM) Status and planned activities related to pilot operation of international RIS data exchange IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 111 of 126

112 6.4 Results Results (Austria) In the context of River Information Services (RIS), reference data is used for (unique) encoding of information within RIS services and applications. Data sets are maintained by different organizations like RIS providers, authorities and international standardization organizations. RIS reference data is of dynamic character. RIS services are built upon the four RIS key technologies: Notices to Skippers, Vessel Tracking and Tracing (Inland AIS), Electronic Ship Reporting and Inland Electronic Navigational Charts (Inland ENCs). To ensure interoperability of RIS services and applications, proper management of reference data is important. In Austria an IENC-RIS Index converter was implemented that automatically generates the national RIS Index out of the national IENCs (based on the RIS index Encoding Guide, version 0.9) to be used further in other RIS applications. The following figure illustrates reference data flow between IENCs and RIS Index. Figure 31: IENC-RIS Index Converter The IENC - RIS Index converter takes over a major part of the quality assurance as there is a quality check after the generation of the national RIS Index based on the defined format (e.g. length, mandatory fields, etc.) out of the RIS Index Encoding Guide. This means that the data within Inland ENCs are compared to a set of rules which is provided for the first time on the basis of the definition of national Quality check Reference tables and the current RIS Index Encoding Guide. Furthermore in Austria an RIS Index-IENC Update Tool was implemented. The RIS Index-IENC Update Tool actualises attributes (20 digit ISRS location code, Object name and National object name) of the IENC-objects. The IENC-exported RIS Index is corrected manually to the current RIS Index Encoding Guide. On basis of the RIS Index-IENC Update Tool a second IENC-RIS Index dismar converter was implemented. This IENC-RIS Index dismar converter generates on the basis of the IENCs the 20 digit ISRS location codes for all fairway hectometre points (dismar = distance mark on waterway axis) automatically. With the RIS Index-IENC Update Tool the available 20 digit ISRS location codes of all Fairway hectometres are coded in all dismar-ienc objects within IENCs automatically. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 112 of 126

113 Documentation Title Content Organisation Status / comment Requirement analysis System specification and test documentation Benefits Requirement specification of the national reference data management systems System specification and test documentation of the national reference data management systems via donau via donau Table 6-2: Documentation of results SuAc 1.5 Austria finished finished Geo-reference data (the 20 digit location codes according to the International Ship Reporting Standard (ISRS)) included in the format of the RIS Index can be utilized further in other RIS key technologies Inland ECDIS, Notices to Skippers, Electronic Ship Reporting and Vessel Tracking and Tracing (Inland AIS). Figure 32: Harmonisation of reference data among RIS Services Objects relevant for navigation are included in Inland ENCs and in the RIS Index, a table listing objects together with their properties. Inland ENCs and the RIS Index include a common set of objects such as locks, bridges, ports, terminals and gauges. The RIS Index can be imported into the Austrian Notices to Skippers application. Notices to Skippers include information about fairway sections and objects along the fairway. By incorporation of the unique 20 digit ISRS location code into Notices to Skippers messages, information can be linked to respective objects within Inland ENC. In ECDIS viewers dynamic information provided by Notices to Skippers or Inland AIS can be displayed directly at the location of the respective object within the Inland ENC. The presented automated tool (IENC-RIS Index Converter) eliminates human errors that could occur when object reference codes are maintained multiple times in different tools and provides therefore interoperability and unique referencing of objects throughout various RIS technologies. The service provider does not need to maintain geo-reference data. The Inland ENC RIS Index converter supersedes therefore double manual work in maintaining different formats of reference data and reduce redundancy. Required changes within objects and object properties are performed only once within the Inland ENCs. The Inland ENC RIS Index converter takes over a part of the quality assurance by means of a quality check of generated datasets. IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 113 of 126

114 6.4.2 Results (Slovakia) Status quo before IRIS Europe II Before the start of the IRIS Europe II project, the national RIS Index was not officially published. The first officially published RIS Index was available in the course of the project. This, however, did not still include the latest recommendations discussed at the Joint Task Force for the RIS Index as there is an official final publication of the new RIS Index Encoding Guide missing. The reference data were maintained within different existing applications, such as Notices to Skippers, Electronic Reporting, national Hull Database, separately. This way there was a big risk of reference data inconsistency already on the national level. Therefore, the proposal for the centralised solutions was prepared. The centralised reference data management solution ensures the synchronisation and reference data update with the European Reference Data Management Service, allows different distributed system to access the reference data and allows the maintenance of the reference data from one single point based on the access rights assigned to different users. RIS Index The RIS Index is maintained and published by the State Navigation Administration (SPS). The first version 1.0 was published on 23th February 2011, for the river Danube between r.km 1880,2 1708,2, including the Gabčíkovo derivation canal. The RIS Index was created according to the latest valid RIS Index Encoding Guide. The RIS Index includes also table with fairway axis hectometres. The data were taken from different sources: mostly from existing ENCs produced by SVP, (coordinates, hectometres) reference data for the waterway gauges provided by SHMU Encoding of objects on the border section with Austria has been agreed between the ENC producers and RIS Index producers. Similar agreement between Slovak and Hungarian ENC producers is missing, so the objects on border section between SK and HU are encoded individually on national levels. The RIS Index and ENCs are not harmonized, for many reasons: the ENCs were produced by different organisation, more-less independently from creation of the RIS Index, the work was not coordinated. ENCs in Inland ECDIS v1.02 does not contain the ISRS codes so the ISRS codes had to be created from scratch. However, SPS and SVP agreed that in the future they will closely cooperate on updating the ENCs, and the ENCs and RIS Index will be harmonized. During the implementation of the RIS Index into RIS applications some imperfections showed up: The names of some objects were too long (more than 70 characters) so we had to cut them. The format of the hectometres coordinates on the fairway axis had to be corrected as well. After these corrections the updated version 1.1 of the RIS Index was published on 1 st June This version was sent to the RIS expert groups for publication on official web sites of Expert Groups sent to the European Reference Data Manager (in line with the agreed procedures) uploaded to the test environment of the ERDMS (at the time of the upload the issue with the maintenance of the UN Location Codes was not solved and the separate requests should be done to include some of the nationally used UN Location Codes) Requirements Based on the requirements from the RIS Provider (State Navigation Administration), organisation responsible for the consolidation of the RIS Index in Slovakia, there is no direct link between the ENC charts and the RIS Index; in a way of direct technical interconnection. The reasons are as follows: IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 114 of 126

115 The responsibility for the RIS Index and RIS related issues are under the auspices of the State Navigation Administration (with exception of the production of the Electronic Navigational Charts) ENC charts (Inland ECDIS charts) and respective production data in Slovakia are not in line with the newest Inland ECDIS standard, which incorporates the ISRS code for objects Data for the ENC charts are prepared and produced by different organisation belonging under the Slovak Ministry of Environment, thus different governmental sector and the competencies and budget allocations shall be subject of further discussions Based on the above mentioned, it was decided that the separate module relational database with verification functions will be implemented and all RIS related reference data will be maintained within this module. In the first instance the focus of the implementation was on the RIS Index related reference data. The module is built flexible and can be amended to cover more reference data. The processes are in line with the proposed Maintenance procedures created by project PLATINA: PLATINA RISDataManagement Service API Interface Final zip _Platina_annex_3_Maint.doc.zip _Platina_annex_4_Funct.doc.zip Communication interface itself in its last version supports the following specifications: ERDMS_WS_XSD_1.0g.xsd RefWebService.wsdl The national reference data management module covers maintenance of the following reference data: Category A: References, code and code tables maintained by an official recognised organisation Focus on UN Country Codes and UN Location Codes. In the next steps, after the IRIS Europe II project and agreement of all countries to use one reference data source (ERDMS), the reference data such as HS Codes, Vessel Types, etc. will be implemented. The maintenance procedure will remain as the one for UN Country Codes. Category B: National and regional codes and references maintained by member states for usage in a certain area Focus on the maintenance of the RIS Index. Category C: Standard Codes and references, which are part of the published written technical specifications and maintained by the expert groups Implementation The maintenance of these data will be integrated as soon as requested in the future. System architecture: Slovak national Reference data management system is a centralised solution to which any other system can be connected using the specified interface. The interface is based on the web services and uses the XML defined messages. The XML message is defined in cooperation with the PLATINA project that implemented ERDMS. The web service for the communication was partly updated to serve the national needs. The system employs the three tier client server architecture. All functions of reference data management system are accessible on the presentation tier via thin client making use traditional web browsers (presentation tier), which ensures the easy accessibility for users. Communication is done via http over an encrypted SSL connection (HTTPS). IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 115 of 126

116 Functional business logic (application tier) containing business rules based on required functionalities and defined processes runs on an application server (Tomcat). Data tier provides data storage and data access mechanism to an application. PostgreSQL is used as a database server. The data tier provides data storage and data access mechanisms to an application. This tier keeps data neutral and independent from the business logic. PostgreSQL is used as a database server. European reference data management system RIS indices (all countries) EU Reference data European level National level EU Gateway SLOVRIS National reference data management system EU Gateway SK RIS index (incl WLG) National reference data EU Reference data Read only National Gateway NtS RIS ERI, calamity abatement National Hull Database State navigation administration, Slovak Water Management Enterprise, Slovak Hydro-meteorological Institute, other... Figure 33: System architecture Existing features (general summary of functionalities): The following main functionalities are covered by the Slovak national reference data management service: Login (logout) functionality making use of the Single Sign On solution (see specifications as available in the SuAc 2.7) Search reference data functionality allows the user to filter (full text), sort (e.g. alphabetically) and search the records of different reference data types. The request and search information functions provides following o Request information based on a code or part of it for a certain reference data type. o Request information based on a description or part of it for a certain reference data type. o Request all mutations (actual, all changes and deleted records) within a certain period. o Request all actual records from a certain reference data type (so called master dumps). Manage reference data functionality allows the user to maintain the reference data on a national level and to send mutations to the European level. Reference data may be added, updated, or deleted, imported or exported. Verification of reference data functionality allows the external verification of records by the authorised person, the National Data Manager, before its publication on the European level. Publish reference data functionality allows to publish the country related reference data on the European level (Category B as identified by PLATINA) Request the mutation of reference data maintained on the European level (Category A and C) Publish the national related reference data into the national refdata database (interface to other national systems using the reference data, e.g. the Notices to Skippers) IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 116 of 126

117 Manage users functionality allows the administrator (BackEnd Admin) to manage users and assign the roles (Publisher, Editor, Administrator) and respective access rights in response to a request (oral / written based on the organisational processes). Manage application settings and Manage system functionalities are used by the Back End or System administrators. Link to the ERDMS The National Reference data management system is connected to the ERDMS making use the defined web services. The following messages are used: getmutations() for automated synchronization of all reftypes. This functionality is used for keeping the national refdatabase up-to-date. getdataxml()for manual synchronization of e.g. Country Codes. getrisdataxml(): for manual synchronization of RIS Indices. It is used for requesting certain codes, e.g. to check whether the codes with response ERROR or WARNING were processed by the data manager. The process with involvement of the data manager is proposed to be skipped, anyhow the method is implemented and can be used by administrator in future. mutatedataxml() Mutate specific (1 record) reference data (add new one or change existing). These mutations are processed immediately without human interaction. However this function is only possible for the country specific data (such as locations) and only the country specific records for the specified user, other mutations will be rejected The connection was tested. Feedback was provided to ERDMS developers and Change Requests submitted to the Expert Group. Link to other distributed systems The link to the Notices to Skippers was implemented, meaning the relevant changes and amendments made in the RIS index are automatically updated in the new Notices to Skippers application. The Export functionality allows data to be available as excel files, csv, etc. and as such these can be directly imported into another software application. Documentation Title Content Organisation IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc1.5 D1 Requirement_analysis_v1.0 _final_en.doc IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc1.5 D2 System specification of NRDMS_v0p7_final_EN.doc IRIS-Europe_II_SuAc1.5 D3_System documentation and Test documentation_v0p5_final_ EN.doc Requirement analysis on national systems for management of reference data National requirements functional, non functional; Use Cases; Description of processes Technical descriptions of implementations; General summary of functionality; Results of Test cases; Definition of the interface to different distributed national solutions Recommendations SuAc1.5 partners KIOS KIOS Table 6-3: Documentation of results SuAc 1.5 Slovakia Status / comment Final EN version Final EN and SK version Final EN version In addition to the official project deliverables, for the purposes of State Navigation Administration and other users of NRDMS application following user manuals have been created (in SK language): Administrator manual Editor manual Publisher manual IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 117 of 126

118 Benefits The reference data is the data required for application to function, excluding any data the application collects from the user. The challenge is when multiple applications share the same data or when it comes to the exchange of messages containing reference data. In Slovakia decentralised solution was used before the IRIS Europe II project. Multiple applications had their own databases with often same reference data. The drawbacks of this approach were: Duplication of data Duplication of management effort No single version of truth (if data differs, which one is the correct?) The implemented solution is built on a central national database containing the reference data, which is accessible for any of the multiple national RIS applications via web service using the XML messages for data exchange data synchronisation. The data from central database is updated into application specific databases, as soon as new mutation of reference data is available or on a user's request. The applications themselves have no knowledge of the central database and only communicate with their local database, which contains the synchronised reference data. The main benefits are linked to the data management (create, update, delete reference data) as well as the maintenance of multiple applications. This solution allows further enhancements in the future using centrally maintained reference data. The benefits can be summarised as follows: Single point for the reference data management o RIS related reference data are consolidated on the national level o Single access point (as regards the reference data) for different European services o Single access point (as regards the reference data) for different national services Clear single version of the truth, updates can be made in the centralised segment on national level only (see as well the rules for the Reference Data Maintenance by PLATINA). No changes related to the reference data can be made in an application specific database. Applications always have the latest version of the reference data No dependency between the applications and the central database (both national central and European central database) Changes to central database are hidden behind the service interface (web service), which can often remain unchanged. Changes to the interface can be handled through versioning of the service, maintaining backwards compatibility Failure of the network, central service or central database does not impact the application Maintenance of either the service or central database can be done at any time Applications can follow their own business rules for synchronising the reference data, if such behaviour is required IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 118 of 126

119 6.4.3 Results (Hungary) The most important results of this sub-activity for Hungary is that a pilot application has been specified and implemented that is able to export RIS Index data from the standardized IENCs. To provide test results, test IENCs had to be produced (for the Budapest section of the Danube), since the current available IENC in Hungary is produced according to the Inland ECDIS Standard version Since the data exported from the application is produced according to the current RIS Index template, the data can be uploaded to European Reference Data Management System. Figure 34: National reference data management application (Hungary) CountryCoUNLOCOD FW_CODE OBJECT_COHECTOM CountryCodeUNLOCODEFW_CODEOBJECT_CODEHECTOM Functie ObjectName2 Location_Name FairwayNaRouteNamRelated_ISSection_ Lat long_ Related_ECommunicvessel_convessel_convessel_convessel_conavailable_ HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16432 bridge Lágymányosi-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16432 bridge Délihíd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16432 bridge Lágymányosi-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16432 bridge Délihíd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16432 bridge Lágymányosi-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16432 bridge Lágymányosi-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16432 bridge Délihíd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16432 bridge Délihíd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16460 bridge Erzsébet-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16443 bridge Petőfi-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16443 bridge Petőfi-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16443 bridge Petőfi-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16453 bridge Szabadság-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16453 bridge Szabadság-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16453 bridge Szabadság-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16470 bridge Lánchíd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16470 bridge Lánchíd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16470 bridge Lánchíd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16487 bridge Margit-híd Budapest Margitszigeti-Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16487 bridge Margit-híd Budapest Margitszigeti-Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16487 bridge Margit-híd Budapest Margitszigeti-Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16487 bridge Margit-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16487 bridge Margit-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16514 bridge Árpád-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDN HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16514 bridge Árpád-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDN HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16514 bridge Árpád-híd Budapest Margitszigeti-Duna H5DBUDN HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16514 bridge Árpád-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDN HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16545 bridge Északi-híd Budapest Óbudai mellékág H5DBUDN HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16545 bridge Északi-híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDN HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16514 bridge Árpád-híd Budapest Hajógyári öböl H5DBUDN HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16597 bridge M0 Északi Budapest Duna H5DBUDN HU BUD 1 BRIDG HUBUD00001BRIDG16597 bridge M0 Északi Budapest Duna H5DBUDN HU BUD 2 BRIDG HUBUD00002BRIDG16328 bridge M0 híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDS HU BUD 2 BRIDG HUBUD00002BRIDG16328 bridge M0 híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDS HU BUD 2 BRIDG HUBUD00002BRIDG16328 bridge M0 híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDS HU BUD 2 BRIDG HUBUD00002BRIDG16328 bridge M0 híd Budapest Duna H5DBUDS HU XXX 2 CABLE HUXXX00002CABLE16392 cblohd??? Duna H5DBUDS HU CPE 2 CSEPL HUCPE00002CSEPL16397 hrbare Csepeli kikötö Csepel Duna H5DBUDC HU BUD HUBUD hrbare MAHART Ujpest Budapest Újpesti öböl H5DBUDN HU BUD HUBUD hrbare Panteon Kft. Budapest Duna H5DBUDN HU CPE 2 PETRO HUCPE00002PETRO16395 hrbare Petroleum kikötö Csepel Duna H5DBUDS HU CPE 2 CSEPL HUCPE00002CSEPL16397 hrbare Csepeli kikötö Csepel Duna H5DBUDS HU CPE HUCPE termnl FERROPORT Kft. Csepel Duna H5DBUDC HU CPE HUCPE termnl MAHART Csepel Duna H5DBUDC HU CPE HUCPE termnl MAHART Csepel Duna H5DBUDC HU CPE HUCPE termnl DUNATÁR Kft. Csepel Duna H5DBUDS HU CPE HUCPE termnl DUNATÁR Kft. Csepel Duna H5DBUDS HU CPE HUCPE termnl Dunai Kikötő Kft. Csepel Duna H5DBUDS HU CPE HUCPE termnl Csepel Duna H5DBUDS HU CPE HUCPE termnl Dunai Nehézrakodó Kft. Csepel Duna H5DBUDS HU BUD 1 G HUBUD00001G wtwgag Budapest Budapest Duna H5DBUDC Figure 35: Part of RIS Index (Hungary) IRIS Europe II This project is co-funded by the European Commission page 119 of 126