A study to assess the applicability of using remote sensing to minimize service interruption of Canadian port physical infrastructure

Remote sensing can be an effective tool for providing early warning of structural deterioration that is difficult or impossible to detect with visual inspections, which can allow infrastructure owners and operators to prioritize key areas for maintenance and assist in more rapid recovery from incidents that cause service interruptions. Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs) do not currently use remote sensing techniques to assess the condition of physical infrastructure despite their application to similar operations such as bridges, pipelines, and dams. Interviews with key informants indicate that there are no technical or scientific barriers to using remote sensing to assess port physical infrastructure, and that while the presence of heterogeneous materials and surfaces, restricted air space, and a complex web of interconnected port partners and tenants complicates its use, these are surmountable. Instead, interviews suggest that the primary barrier stopping CPAs from implementing remote sensing is that there is no system-wide formal chain of responsibility and authority due to a lack of public sector agency leadership resulting from the commonly used “landlord model” for port operations, which generates fragmented stakeholder interests and inhibits collaboration. Given the emerging challenges of aging infrastructure, climate change-related impacts, and the demands of system-wide business continuity, a private and public sector collaborative pilot project is needed to test the feasibility of adopting remote sensing for port physical infrastructure assessment.