Port-Log features prominently on BBC2 ‘What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day’ documentary

We were delighted to see our data platform Port-Log featuring so prominently on the BBC 2 programme: ‘What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day (Cars)”. The documentary which aired on the 14th of October 2019, was the third in a 3-part series exploring what Britain imports and exports. The other two programmes featured fish and fruit.

Associated British Ports (ABP) Port of Southampton was the primary location for the 60-minute documentary, chosen because of the large number of cars and car parts that pass through the port. Welcoming over 120 vessels every month, filled with cars and components for British customers, the Port of Southampton is a vital link in the vast distribution chain that makes up the UK overseas car industries.

During the documentary, Ed Balls interviewed the Port’s Harbour Master Captain Phil Buckley from inside the port ‘nerve centre’; the Vessel Tracking Services (VTS) control room.
Ed Balls comments “When most of our cars come in and out via the sea, the biggest obstacle can be mother nature”.

During the interview with Ed, Phil Buckley states that “This is where we control the whole marine function….with a whole bunch of information: a mixture of CCTV, weather and also tidal information all of which are critical. The guys in the VTS control room need them to operate (safely)”.

Referring to the OceanWise Port-Log data platform which is displayed on the screen (image above), Phil comments “the biggest thing that I am interested in is the weather and the tide”.
OceanWise have been supporting Ports like ABP’s Port of Southampton for the last 10 years, providing advice, environmental monitoring systems, software and our data platform Port-Log. Port-Log provides real-time data display and ease of data sharing to those who need it most (such as Pilots, dredgers, VTS teams) when they need it, to support critical decision making and the safe passage of vessels.

We are proud to supply the Port of Southampton with our software and monitoring products. As marine data experts we understand how important data can be, and will continue to be, in order to support our customers provide safe vessel passage no matter what the size or scale of their marine operations.

Read about our recent project at the Port of Dover or see other customer case studies here or see more details on how we support Ports and Harbours here.