Valencia Port Validates European System to Detect Possible Underwater Threats

The Valencia Port has hosted the final tests of the SMAUG European Project (Smart Maritime and Underwater Guardian), an initiative aimed at enhancing port security through the detection of potential underwater threats.

In the demonstration, which involved the participation of the Customs of the State Agency for Tax Administration, critical scenarios were recreated to test the effectiveness of artificial intelligence solutions, advanced sensing, underwater robotics, and autonomous vehicles.

The first scenario took place at the mouth of the Turia River, one mile off the coast, with the participation of a Customs patrol boat. In this exercise, the detection of a semi-submersible was simulated, typically used in illicit activities such as drug trafficking. For this, acoustic sensors, information from the maritime tracking system AIS, and a drone equipped with artificial intelligence were combined to carry out surveillance and tracking tasks.

Another scenario took place within the Valencia Port itself, where underwater detection systems were tested to locate suspicious vessels and analyze the hulls of ships for possible hidden objects.

Photo: Valenciaport Foundation