Rotterdam, July 23, 2025 – KOTUG OptiPort and the Metropolitan Hub System (MHS) have signed a agreement to develop an innovative logistics concept: Transport as a Service over water. Smart scheduling of electric pushers and barges aims to enable cleaner, more efficient, and scalable freight transport in urban regions.

The agreement was formally confirmed at the headquarters of KOTUG International in the Waalhaven, Rotterdam. The smart scheduling solution – powered by OptiPort – enables more reliable and sustainable transport of goods within and between urban areas. Not by expanding infrastructure, but by optimizing the use of what already exists: waterways, intelligent sailing routes, and real-time data.

The smart sheduling uses real-time information such as vessel positions, water levels, bridge opening times, and optimal sailing speeds to plan the deployment of electrically powered pusher-barge (including KOTUG’s E-Pushers/barge combinations). Through the smart integration of data, especially the availability and utilization of the electric pusher can be significantly improved. This is expected to result in noticeable cost advantages for customers of the smart scheduling solution.

“This marks the first step toward a new logistics ecosystem in which customers no longer need to own or charter an entire vessel to move goods efficiently and emission-free over water,” says Patrick Everts Director of KOTUG OptiPort. “With smart planning and real-time data, we make waterborne transport scalable, predictable, and affordable – exactly what cities and shippers need.”

A Prototype with Public Value

The first step is developing a prototype of the smart planning solution. This prototype aligns with the results of the MHS project “Internet of Cargo (IoC)” which was initiated with the support of the province of North Holland. IoC focuses on smart data sharing with the goal of operating emission-free push barge-pushboat combinations on regional waters according to a smart digital timetable (as an alternative to road freight transport).

The prototype is developed along several existing cargo flows – such as waste, civil engineering, building materials, and agriculture – in the provinces of South Holland, North Holland, and Utrecht. KOTUG OptiPort is translating this into a planning platform that can be applied more broadly in other regions and deployed by various logistic parties.

Transition towards clean inland shipping

The MHS Foundation is collaborating with the participating provinces across the country on the transition towards clean inland shipping as a solution to urban accessibility issues. MHS acts as a catalyst and client, and – along with partner Circle Line Logistics – actively contributes to the refinement, testing, and scaling of the smart planning solution.

According to Peter de Bruijn, board member of MHS and co-founder of Circle Line Logistics, the strength of the collaboration lies “in the combination of technology, practical experience, and a shared ambition. We want to demonstrate that data-driven planning is not a distant ideal, but the key to emission reduction and efficient regional supply chains.”

The smart planning solution supports the transition to clean and smart inland shipping and thus aligns with the public ambitions of the provinces of South Holland, North Holland, and Utrecht to green logistics and stimulate freight transport by water. Support is also provided by the Interreg project “InnoWatr.” In this project, MHS collaborates with the provinces of Fryslan and Groningen, the “Samen Circulair Heerenveen” foundation, and waste processing company OMRIN.

In the autumn, once the prototype is ready for demonstration, a campaign will be launched to expand the concept to additional potential users and regions.

Caption: The assignment was officially signed by Patrick Everts (KOTUG OptiPort), Tomas te Velde and Peter de Bruijn on behalf of the MHS board.

Note to the Editor

• KOTUG International, Eduardo Reis Ramos
  Manager Corporate Communications & PR:
  e.reisramos@kotug.com
  +31 6 2141 0188

• MHS, Erwin vd Linden:
  vanderlinden@aristoi.nl
  +31 650524263