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ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
AD Ports Group on Thursday announced a strategic partnership and research collaboration agreement with NYU Abu Dhabi. This multi-year partnership aims to build and pilot a high-fidelity intelligence engine based on stochastic models and spatial intelligence.
The engine is designed to serve as a sophisticated decision-support layer for human operators, bringing together vessel arrival time predictions, berth allocation optimisation suggestions, and environmental impact considerations with high precision.
This high-fidelity intelligence engine aims to further de-risk port call uncertainty and continue port operations fluidity enhancement, resulting in smarter port calls that unlock more capacity without physical expansion.
Depending on the vessel type, aligning arrival times with berth allocation can also reduce idle time and save fuel burn considerably, minimising environmental harm and facilitating greener port calls.
Mohamed Jamal-Eddine, Group Chief Digital & Information Officer at AD Ports Group, said, “As we continue to reimagine logistics ecosystems to advance the frontiers of global trade, pioneering research and strategic partnerships remain key pillars of our digitally-led approach. By integrating our deep expertise in port operations and trade facilitation with advanced predictive arrival intelligence and resilient operational modelling, we are accelerating the pace towards a future of autonomous decision-support.
Through strategic partnerships such as this with NYU Abu Dhabi, we are ensuring that our move to predictive precision is both robust and ethically sound, giving our global partners the certainty they need to navigate an increasingly complex trade landscape.”
This jointly-developed initiative aims to turn variability into reliability and significantly advance terminal-focused decarbonisation transparency, serving as an integrated operational and environmental digital decision layer. As part of a long-term commitment to technological evolution, plans are in place to pilot the initiative at select terminals and trade lanes, with the objective of scaling successful outcomes across the Group’s global network.
Arlie Peters, Provost - NYU Abu Dhabi, said, “At NYU Abu Dhabi, we focus on research that addresses real-world challenges. Our collaboration with AD Ports Group brings together academic expertise and practical insight to strengthen the efficiency, resilience, and sustainability of modern logistics. This partnership reflects Abu Dhabi’s broader ambitions and the UAE’s leadership in trade and infrastructure.
“By connecting research with application, we aim to support the UAE’s continued role as a global hub for logistics. Led by Professor Ali Diabat from Civil and Urban Engineering, this work develops data-driven approaches to support better decision-making and improve long-term performance across port and logistics operations.”
The partnership represents a powerful synergy of specialised expertise and operational reach. NYU Abu Dhabi brings world-class analytical capabilities and advanced research, providing the scientific rigour needed for high-fidelity modelling.
In line with internal data governance controls, AD Ports Group will support the initiative by providing secure access to relevant operational information and by facilitating controlled, real-world pilot deployments across selected terminals and trade lanes, helping translate the high-fidelity engine into an executable, field-tested solution.
