{"id":20596,"date":"2026-11-10T14:05:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/?p=20596"},"modified":"2026-11-10T14:05:22","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:05:22","slug":"port-of-tarragona-as-a-sandbox-for-the-european-seaclear2-0-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/port-of-tarragona-as-a-sandbox-for-the-european-seaclear2-0-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Port of Tarragona as a Sandbox for the European SeaClear2.0 Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Between 19 and 29 October, the Port of Tarragona hosted the final demonstration activities of the European SeaClear2.0 project, an initiative developing robotic and artificial intelligence solutions to detect and remove waste from the sea surface and seabed. These activities included various technical tests and demonstrations in a real-world environment, showcasing how different devices can work together in a coordinated manner to contribute to the cleaning and protection of marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Information and coordination area for the SeaClear2.0 project activities at the Port of Tarragona<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SeaClear2.0 system integrates various specialised devices that operate in a coordinated manner. SeaCAT, an autonomous catamaran measuring almost seven metres, serves as the mission control and coordination centre and is equipped with a multibeam echo sounder, a sonar system that emits multiple acoustic signals simultaneously to produce detailed maps of the seabed. For underwater inspection, the system incorporates Mini-Tortuga, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of reaching depths of up to 300 metres and using different types of sonar and detectors to locate waste. Once identified, the waste can be recovered using Smart Grapple, a four-fingered articulated robotic gripper also equipped with electromagnets to handle metal objects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The autonomous SeaCAT catamaran during testing at the Port of Tarragona.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the surface, SeaBees, two small robots equipped with a ten-metre net and a submerged skirt, can collect plastics and other floating waste, particularly in port areas and narrow spaces. The system also includes SeaHawk, a drone that facilitates aerial inspection and the detection of waste accumulation, and SeaDRAGON, an autonomous vehicle designed to transport recovered waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Control equipment and SeaBees surface robots with a net for collecting floating waste.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SeaHawk, a drone that facilitates aerial inspection and the detection of waste accumulation<\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these elements are coordinated through centralised software incorporating artificial intelligence, which enables the planning of optimal and safe trajectories to avoid obstacles, manages communication between the control centre and drones, robots and autonomous vessels, monitors energy consumption and optimises movements, and recognises and classifies waste. The system can operate autonomously, making decisions about where to go, what to collect and how to do so in the most efficient way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main public demonstration event took place on 24 October in the area near the Royal Steps, at Marina Port Tarraco in the Port of Tarragona, where various applications of the system were showcased. During the demonstration, a drone detected a floating plastic bottle and transmitted its location to the SeaBees surface robots, which collected it using a net. The capabilities of underwater robotics to recover sunken waste were also demonstrated, with the retrieval of a shopping trolley from the seabed using the autonomous SeaCAT catamaran and the articulated Smart Grapple gripper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Public presentation of the SeaClear2.0 project at the Port of Tarragona.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The SeaCAT catamaran during demonstration operations.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activities at the Port of Tarragona took place between 19 and 29 October and included various technical tests, as well as a working session held on 26 October with representatives from public administrations, environmental organisations, academic institutions and companies. This meeting provided an opportunity to share experiences and discuss the challenges of marine pollution and the potential of new technologies to improve its management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SeaClear2.0 project working session with representatives from different sectors.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SeaClear2.0 is led by Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and brings together a consortium of 13 partners from nine countries. Among them is TECNOSUB, a member company of SOM-INN PORT, which has played a prominent role in the implementation and validation of the system at the Port of Tarragona, as well as in assessing its market potential and commercialisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Port Authority of Tarragona was closely involved in the preparation and implementation of the pilot tests, with the participation of various areas and departments, including the Presidency, Management, Port Operations and Management, Security, Environment, Port-City, and Innovation and Blue Economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This collaboration was key to facilitating the project’s activities at the port facilities and highlighted the Port of Tarragona’s strong commitment to consolidating its position as a sandbox for the development and validation of innovation projects that provide solutions for the logistics and port sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched in January 2023 under the European Horizon Europe programme, the project has a budget of \u20ac9,086,305, of which \u20ac7,971,863.50 is funded by the European Union, and is scheduled for completion in December 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Team of experts from the European SeaClear2.0 project<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this demonstration, SeaClear2.0 completes a key stage in the validation of its technological solutions and highlights the value of collaboration between companies, research centres and public administrations in driving innovation applied to sustainability and the protection of the marine environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 November 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovation and Blue Economy Department<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Between 19 and 29 October, the Port of Tarragona hosted the final demonstration activities of the European SeaClear2.0 project, an initiative developing robotic and artificial intelligence solutions to detect and remove waste from the sea surface and seabed. These activities included various technical tests and demonstrations in a real-world environment, showcasing how different devices can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticies-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20596"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20597,"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20596\/revisions\/20597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sominnport.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}