New Pilots, Research & Industry Collaboration

Dear GREENPORT Alliances community,

Welcome to the 10th edition of our newsletter. This edition showcases insights from our latest piloting, recent collaborations, and new research.

From Theory to Practice: GREENPORT Pilot Training in Aveiro Promotes Sustainability Through Behaviour

The GREENPORT pilot training delivered in Porto Aveiro, Portugal, explored how sustainability starts with behaviour, and demonstrated how behavioural change can play a significant role in making port service operations more environmentally sustainable.

Held on 12, 17 and 18 June 2026, the Portuguese Vocational Education and Training (VET) pilot brought together 24 participants from across the port community, including pilots, tugboat masters, vessel traffic operators, port coordination staff and maritime school trainees.

This pilot represents an important milestone for GREENPORT, demonstrating that sustainability is not only driven by technology but also by behaviour. By combining behavioural science, simulation technology and real operational experience, the project is helping ports move towards greener, safer and more efficient operations. The lessons learned will contribute to the project’s ongoing evaluation activities and support the future transfer of the GREENPORT training methodology to ports across Europe.

Follow our ongoing video messages campaign for more information.

Quantifying the impact of human factors on tugboat fuel consumption

At the 11th International Conference on Maritime Transport in Barcelona, Olivier Schalm from Antwerp Maritime Academy presented research showing that operator behaviour can cause substantial differences in tugboat fuel consumption, even when the vessel, task and operating conditions remain identical.

The presentation proposed a structured method for converting the time series of ship parameters generated by the simulator into an assessment of each participant. To assess the effect of awareness training on the relationship between human behaviour and fuel consumption, maritime professionals perform the same simulator task before and after completing the course.

The results show a general trend towards lower fuel consumption after the training for most participants. Although the degree of improvement varies between individuals, the overall reduction demonstrates that greater awareness and targeted feedback can influence operational behaviour and support more energy-efficient tugboat manoeuvres.

Learn more about this article through our website.

GREENPORT Alliances Showcased at the European Tugowners Association's 63rd Annual Meeting

Between June 9-12 2026, GREENPORT Alliances was proudly presented during the 63rd Annual Meeting of the European Tugowners Association (ETA) in Istanbul, Turkiye. Bringing together more than 170 representatives from across the European towage sector, the event provided an important platform to discuss the future of maritime operations and the transition towards more sustainable and resilient ports.

The presentation demonstrated how GREENPORT Alliances is bridging the gap between environmental ambitions and practical implementation by providing the sector with accessible, high-quality training focused on sustainable operations through the Vocational Education, Higher Education and the Train-The-Trainer courses. The courses promote a more sustainable, effective, and future-ready maritime sector by enhancing skills throughout the port services community.

Learn more about the European Tugowners Association’s annual meeting by visiting this link.

GREENPORT Alliance Expands Collaboration with Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

The GREENPORT project was showcased at the International Conference on Maritime Transport between May 27–29 2026, hosted by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain, highlighting its contribution to sustainable and future-ready port operations.

The partnership focuses on the allocation, implementation, piloting, evaluation, and further joint development of the GREENPORT education and training portfolio, including Higher Education (HEI), Vocational Education and Training (VET), and Train-the-Trainer (TTT) course materials.

This collaboration represents a key step forward in strengthening transnational cooperation and advancing high-quality. Learn more by reading the collaboration agreement and findings here.

Keep following us as GREENPORT moves into an exciting new stage — where research meets real-world impact! In collaboration with our partners, we’re creating innovative educational resources to make port operations more sustainable.

From eco-navigation courses for students to hands-on training for professionals and educators, our three custom programmes are preparing the next generation of green maritime leaders.

Stay tuned — sustainability is setting sail in maritime education!