How the Port Community System works
Broadly speaking, the Port Community System consists of three parts:
- The application layer with the services;
- A platform with the facilities common to all services;
- A central database in which all the information that companies and government authorities exchange via Portbase is gathered.
Within the platform, there is also a further distinction according to:
- Domain-related services specifically aimed at the port, like for instance reference tables with ship names;
- Generic services with general basic functions, such as security, authorisation, management and logging;
- Implementation services with the building blocks for making new services.
How the services work
Each service includes several service processes. These processes describe the desired message exchange and interaction between parties. This involves messages to and from systems (system messages) and messages between people (notifications). The platform ensures that the processes run in accordance with the established rules. Thanks to the central database, the re-use of information is made possible in this connection. Companies need only enter data once.