Digitalisation

Future River Information Services

Digitalisation is not an aim in itself. It is a powerful tool to help achieve more efficiency, safety, resilience and sustainability. Since the adoption of the River Information Services (RIS) directive in 200(, much has changed. RIS COMEX, the EU funded cooperation project bringing together 14 inland waterway authorities from 13 countries, has yielded two operational spin offs. With EuRIS, all RIS data and services are available in one European data sharing environment. With CEERIS in the Danube area, electronic reporting focusing on ship, voyage and cargo is becoming a reality. The COMEX² consortium is ensuring the follow-up.

Meanwhile, the EU adopted an updated RIS directive to ensure the legal framework is future-proof. An evolving EU RIS Environment allows public authorities to improve waterway management and logistics players to optimise transport operations. The updated legislation can help improve the efficiency of inland waterway transport across borders and establish stronger links with other modes of transport to help achieve sustainable, smart and safe transport and logistics.

Digitalisation pathway

2015-2020: Inland Navigation Corridor Management & Inland Port Information Systems
2020-2030: Synchromodal Transport Management
2030-2040: Physical Internet
2040-2050: Zero-emission Synchro-modal Transport

Electronic freight transport information

The eFTI regulation of 2020 requires EU Member States to be able to accept electronic freight transport information (eFTI) in a EU harmonised machine-readable format by mid-2025. The economic operators can continue sending transport information on paper, but if they choose to share this information with authorities in an electronic format, they must use so-called certified eFTI platforms or certify their own transport management system (TMS). The secure and harmonised regulation and data sharing of cargo information enables logistics operators to enrich the transport information with vessel positioning, track and trace and a reliable estimated time of arrival to actor of the supply chain.

The eFTI regulation will become fully applicable as from 9 July 2027. For inland waterway transport, eFTI represents an important opportunity to further integrate inland navigation into multimodal and synchromodal logistics chains. If well combined with RIS, eFTI can contribute to a more efficient, sustainable and resilient European transport system by enabling trusted, real-time data exchange between logistics operators, waterway authorities, ports and enforcement bodies. The complementarity between RIS and eFTI is important. RIS provides operational and traffic-related information for inland navigation, while eFTI establishes a harmonised framework for the exchange of regulatory freight transport information across all transport modes. Together, they can support:

reporting-only-once principles,
improved cargo visibility,
multimodal interoperability,
better integration of inland waterways into digital supply chains,
reduced administrative burden for operators and authorities.

Smart shipping

Ships sailing while 100% on remote control from shore are already a reality in inland shipping thanks to the first test areas which function as regulatory sandboxes. Authorities are working on proactive traffic management and automating bridge and lock operations. Physical objects are being mirrored by digital twins by capturing data from different digital ecosystems by means of artificial intelligence clearing the way for better informed decision making and progressive automation. Smart Shipping is the entire cluster of automated and remote controlled vessels and infrastructure, smart data and smart administration. It aims to help support safer and better operations, preventive maintenance and better capacity management across borders, with the aim to make inland waterway transport easier-to-use.

Smart Shipping also enables to deal with shortage of staff without compromising safety and makes inland waterways attractive to newcomers, opening new jobs and markets in research and operations. The development of Smart Shipping requires cybersecure high-speed broadband coverage across borders and an objective-oriented EU legal framework beyond River Information Services to ensure interoperable deployment across borders and in conjunction with other transport modes.

Automation should be an integral element of a EU holistic vision for smart shipping, encompassing both physical and digital infrastructure and enabling innovation through EU goal‑based legislation. To achieve this, the EU needs a clear implementation roadmap with concrete objectives, targeted actions, and measurable performance indicators embedded within a wider multimodal transport strategy.

The DINA expert group has already outlined an initial vision, which is now being further developed by the DiVINE project. Building on this work, EU goal‑based legislation for automation should be incorporated into the new EU IWT Action Programme for 2028, ensuring alignment between innovation, regulation, and long‑term sector development.

Priorities for INE

Align transport and digital initiatives to ensure mode‑specific systems such as EURIS work together and support the EU Data Mobility Space through interoperable data‑sharing ecosystems.
Steer the design EU digital solutions such as eFTI around stakeholder needs so public and private actors can apply them effectively and avoid stranded investments.
Strengthen Member State support by improving regulatory, process, and IT cooperation for implementing digital initiatives.
Ensure network connectivity through the availability, quality and resilience of bandwidth and latency of broadband infrastructure as well as standardised fallback procedures in case of communication failure.
Create an EU innovation-proof regulatory framework for smart shipping to accelerate cross-border acceptance and boost innovation in inland navigation, a sector dependent on automation to address the growing labour shortage. It is important to move from authorising individual exemptions to an enabling and goal-based framework and to use the lessons learnt from the existing test environments for automated navigation.