Now – at a large number of container terminals (both deepsea and shortsea), ferry terminals, inland terminals and an increasing number of depots in the Netherlands – shippers, forwarders, Customs agents and hauliers can easily submit prenotification of a cargo, visit and/or the accompanying Customs documentation. Portbase is the single, central point of entry for these notifications.

Newly connected terminals
From now on, you can also prenotify your Customs documents at: Combined Cargo Terminals (CCT), Rhenus Terminals Maasvlakte and Verbrugge Vlissingen. This enables the terminal to optimally prepare for the arrival of your containers. The overview below shows the services for which this applies.

Notification Import Documentation
• Combined Cargo Terminals (CCT)
• Verbrugge Vlissingen

Notification Export Documentation
• Combined Cargo Terminals (CCT)
• Rhenus Terminal Maasvlakte

Important! In the service Notification Import Documentation, the aforementioned terminals have been added to the selection list. If you are unable to select these terminals, it means you (still) need to sign a terminal contract with these terminals.

Such a terminal contract can be obtained using our application form for current clients. Next, to sign one of these contracts, you will select (in the form) only the additional terminals to which you are not yet able to submit prenotifications. Once you have completed and submitted the application form, these terminals will be activated for your use. If you have any questions, please contact sales@portbase.com.

Further information 
Further information on how our services work can be found on the Portbase website. Questions? Our Sales department will be pleased to help. You can contact them on
+31 (0)88 – 625 25 34 or at sales@portbase.com.

In autumn 2019, the new service Hinterland Container Notification – Barge (HCN Barge) will replace the existing service Barge Planning. Barge operators like yourself can find the specifications for connecting to this new and improved service here. You or your software provider can get started right away. The link to HCN Barge works using APIs, and a connection to Nextlogic has been taken into account as well. As a result, both will function to your optimum advantage.

HCN makes it possible to realise links for submitting automatic prenotifications of loading and discharge lists, as well as visit and rotation details, to terminals. The latter function is a new improvement compared to Barge Planning. In addition, the API connections have been expanded with the addition of field needed for integral planning using Nextlogic, such as restriction and TEU planning. Features still in development include push APIs
that will allow us to inform you automatically whenever planning or cargo details change. That means you will no longer need to check the status for updates.

Live on 1 October 2019
HCN Barge is scheduled to launch on 1 October 2019. We have scheduled chain and implementation testing with you during a period of three months, starting 1 July 2019.
The current service Barge Planning will be deactivated shortly after 1 October 2019.
It is therefore vital, in order to ensure you can continue to prenotify your vessels and containers at the terminals without interruption, that you begin implementing the API links necessary for the use of HCN Barge as soon as possible.

Part of a multimodal prenotification portal
HCN Barge is part of Hinterland Container Notification, the new multimodal prenotification portal from Portbase. This service offers you a single convenient point to prenotify your visits and containers arriving via all modalities to sea terminals and depots – and, in the near future, to inland terminals as well. What’s more, you can easily switch prenotifications over to a different modality in the portal when necessary. HCN Road has been in use since 2018; after the launch of HCN Barge, HCN Rail will follow as last.

Cooperation between Portbase and Nextlogic
Working together, Portbase and Nextlogic have identified which information is required
(at minimum) from HCN Barge to effectively supply data for the integral planning offered by Nextlogic. That information has been integrated into the API links available starting now. This approach combines the best of both worlds: Portbase’s HCN Barge for arranging all your notifications and Nextlogic as a smart innovation for integral planning. As a result, barge handling in the Port of Rotterdam will become vastly more efficient and we will further reduce congestion.

Further information
If you have questions about connecting to HCN Barge, Remmert Braat, Product Owner for hinterland services at Portbase, will be happy to assist you. He can be reached at +31 (0)62 467 70 08 or r.braat@portbase.com.

A no-deal Brexit is getting closer all the time. This will irrevocably lead to customs formalities for shortsea and ferry traffic to and from the United Kingdom. Together with a large number of other parties, Portbase are working on a chain-wide solution to enable the continuation of fast transportation of cargo via the Dutch ports after Brexit. An important element in this effort is updating our services Notification Import Documentation and Notification Export Documentation.

After Brexit, you will also be able to use both services to send customs documents to shortsea and ferry terminals. All ferry terminals in the Netherlands are making this compulsory; the majority of shortsea terminals have also embraced this approach.
Digital prenotification of customs documents via Portbase avoids unnecessary delays in Dutch ports and ensures correct handling of customs formalities.

Rapid action is required!
This flash gives Portbase web customers further information and explanation about the changes. Please note: Prenotification of import documents with shortsea and ferry terminals also requires that you re-register with Portbase. A no-deal Brexit from
29 March 2019 requires rapid action from everyone!

Notification Import Documentation
In late March 2019, we will be launching a new service, Notification Import Documentation 2.0. Important innovations are:
• You will also be able to prenotify import documents to ferry terminals. To do so,
you need to use the shipment number (consisting of the shipping company SCAC code, booking number and tracking number). At container terminals, that is now the container number.
• After you have sent a prenotification, terminals can send you a return message. That way, you can be sure that your notification has been received. For shortsea and ferry terminals, this return message will become a standard part of the service. For deepsea traffic, this will be dependent on the implementation by the terminals in question.
• The new Import Status service allows you and your haulier(s) to see the customs status at the terminal. You can see whether the import documentation is present and/or a customs embargo is in force. That way, you and your haulier(s) will know whether the cargo can be collected from the terminal.

Connection is automatic, but…
As a web customer, we will automatically transition you to Notification Import Documentation 2.0 at the end of March 2019. You do not need to do anything.
But please note!

Would you also like to pre-register at shortsea and ferry terminals? Sign up immediately!
For the pre-registration of import documents at the (newly participating) shortsea and ferry terminals due to Brexit, you have to fill in an application form again. This is necessary because you have to conclude a new supplementary terminal contract with the shortsea and ferry terminals. In consultation with the shortsea and ferry terminals, Portbase is working on a single umbrella contract. This will allow us to limit your administrative costs, now and in the future. Register today! Brexit is happening soon.

You can register directly here for the pre-registration of import documents to shortsea and ferry terminals after the Brexit. As soon as the umbrella contract is available, we will contact you about your final registration and the payment of your connection costs.

Connection costs for Brexit
As a subsidiary of the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Port of Amsterdam, Portbase is neutral and non-profit. Due to all the necessary Brexit modifications and work on the service Notification Import Documentation 2.0, there will be a one-off charge of € 249.50 for connection to the new shortsea and ferry terminals until 14 March 2019. On 15 March 2019, this will increase to € 499 (excluding VAT). The expected ‘scramble’ in the event of a no-deal Brexit is forcing us to hire in extra capacity. Our current subscription and usage charges will remain unchanged.

The new service Notification Import Documentation 2.0 will go live in late March.
Whether or not there is a no-deal Brexit on 29 March will have no influence on this. The service will go live regardless.

Notification Export Documentation
The changes required to the service Notification Export Documentation for Brexit are limited. Only the Container Number field (11 positions) will change, being replaced by Transport Equipment ID (17 positions). This will allow you to also prenotify export documents for trailer transport via ferry terminals in the future. This change has already been implemented in the web version of Notification Export Documentation. So you do not need to do anything else. As in the container sector, your haulier(s) and ours also automatically benefit from the extensive track & trace options included in the service Track & Trace Export.

As an existing user, you do not pay any connection charges for the service Notification Export Documentation and the service is free to use.

Get Ready for Brexit
You can read all the information about the Dutch approach to enable rapid transportation through
ports in the Netherlands after Brexit at www.getreadyforbrexit.eu.

More information
If you have any questions or you would you like to know which other Portbase services may be relevant for you, our Sales department will be pleased to help. You can contact them on +31 (0)88 625 25 17 or sales@portbase.com.

Today, together with Portbase, cooperating branch organisations in the Dutch ports are launching the website www.getreadyforbrexit.eu/en. Here, exporters, importers and their logistic service providers will be able to see at a glance what they will need to do to maintain quick transport of their cargoes to and from the United Kingdom through the Dutch ports; even after the Brexit. The website’s launch marks the kick-off of an international campaign that is intended to guide the entire logistical chain through preparations for the Brexit.

The site www.getreadyforbrexit.eu is aimed at informing and activating parties in the logistical chain, including importers, exporters, carriers/hauliers and forwarders. A customer journey has been defined for each target group. These step-by-step journeys set out which action must be done, by whom and when, in order to be able to import and export goods swiftly through the Dutch ports after 29 March 2019. The cooperating parties are calling on the logistical chain to take part in the shared solution for Brexit in the Dutch ports. This uniform approach will ensure smooth, rapid handling of the Customs formalities that will result from the Brexit.

An approach for Dutch ports
The initiators of ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ are Portbase, port business association Deltalinqs, the interest groups FENEX, evofenedex, and Transport and Logistics Netherlands (TLN)/AFTO. Together with Dutch Customs, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Port of Amsterdam, the ferry operators and the shortsea terminals, they have been working since September of this year to realise a single Dutch chain solution for Brexit in the Dutch ports that complies with European legislation. The elements of this approach combine to enable 100% digital and automated handling of Customs formalities, including optimum reuse of data. All information precedes the cargo. A single entry point for all terminals will be created, for both shortsea and ferry traffic. This will open the door to clever Customs supervision with minimum detriment to the process. Following the Brexit, it will become even more attractive to transport goods to and from the United Kingdom via the Dutch ports. Portbase Director Iwan van der Wolf: “As a national Port Community System, Portbase has a coordinating role in establishing the necessary agreements within the community and developing the required IT process. Already, a great deal has been achieved in recent months, and all participating parties have embraced a central working method. But this is no time for us to sit back and relax – 29 March will be here before you know it. And at that point, we must be truly prepared.”

A new reality
The imminent Brexit will create a new reality for the logistical chains between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Whatever the outcome of the political negotiations, every conceivable form of Brexit will create Customs obligations for shortsea and ferry traffic. In the (likely) case of a ‘no deal’, these formalities will go into effect immediately after29 March 2019. And even if there is a ‘soft’ Brexit, Customs formalities will be an inevitable result in the near future – something many people do not seem to realise. “By preparing our logistical chain together – here and now – all cargoes can continue to move swiftly through the Dutch ports post-Brexit. If we don’t, we’ll all be standing still together following the Brexit instead,” according to Steven Lak from port business association Deltalinqs.

Mutual interdependence
If the Dutch port solution is to succeed, each and every link in the logistical chain must participate and make its own timely preparations. When one party fails to comply with Customs formalities in time, everyone in the chain will stand still. From exporters, importers and Customs agents to hauliers, terminals, shipping company, shipbrokers and ferry operators, every party has a duty and a responsibility. If everyone consistently acts in a timely fashion and passes on the correct information, including Customs details, all cargoes will continue to move to and from the United Kingdom via the Dutch ports after the Brexit. Director of evofenedex Bart Jan Koopman: “That’s why this international campaign is so incredibly important. The transport chain extends deep into the hinterland. Shippers and hauliers in Poland and Germany also need to know which steps to take to make sure that, after Brexit, they can transport their goods quickly – and with a minimum of hassle – to and from the United Kingdom via the Dutch ports.

ROTTERDAM – 22 October 2018. Leading businesses in the Dutch ports are seeking out cooperation in order to prepare themselves for the Brexit. Together with business association Deltalinqs, Dutch Customs, interest groups FENEX, evofenedex, the Dutch Association for Transport and Logistics (TLN)/AFTO, ferry companies Stena Line, DFDS, CLdN and P&O Ferries, Port of Rotterdam and Port of Amsterdam, Port Community System Portbase is initiating a programme intended to ensure the continued smooth flow of goods to and from the United Kingdom.  

Working group

With the consequences of the Brexit as yet uncertain, companies in the Dutch ports are adopting a stance that’s anything but passive. A working group made up of stakeholders is currently exploring the adjustments that will need to be made for ferry transport. In the present situation, this logistical chain – from shipper to haulier – does not deal with any Customs obligations. As a result of the Brexit, however, they will need to thoroughly revise their processes. Arthur van Dijk, President of the Dutch Association for Transport and Logistics: “The virtual national border will radically alter the free movement of goods to and from the United Kingdom. Customs formalities create interdependencies in the logistical process, which in turn places pressure on speed and efficiency. This is something that negatively affects us all, which is why we’re eager to join together in looking for a solution.”

Automated solution for across the chain                  

In the Dutch ports, the administrative handling of incoming and outgoing container transport has been fully automated for some years now. Via Portbase’s Port Community System, for instance, participating organisations are already able to conduct all their processes quickly and efficiently. Portbase Director Iwan van der Wolf: “This solution has applications for the short-sea chain and we’re looking into its usability for ferry transport as well. Portbase has a coordinating role in these efforts to develop an IT process and a system of agreements. The restructuring of the Port Community System will ensure the entire chain is able provide and reuse automated data for the purpose of various notifications and declarations. Reuse of data reduces the number of mistakes, speeds up the logistical process and allows each party to minimise their respective liability and administrative burden.” Deltalinqs President Steven Lak says, “Only the most well-prepared ports will continue to enjoy preferred status in the European playing field. The Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis has estimated that, depending on whether a trade deal or a no-deal scenario emerges, the Dutch seaports will lose between 2.0 and 4.4% of their total transit volume. In concrete terms, this loss is equivalent to 9 to 20 million tons of cargo. By investing in an automated solution for across the chain, however, we can minimise this damage as much as possible.”

Customs

The major economic interests at stake necessitate a joint approach – and in a chain, no single party can solve all the problems on their own. It is also in the interest of the port community to prevent the stagnation of in and outgoing ferry transport and to prevent long queues and waiting times. Cooperation with Customs plays an important role in this regard. Dutch Customs enjoys a reputation as one of the best Customs authorities in the world, particularly due to its efficient handling processes. Nanette van Schelven, General Director – Customs Administration of the Netherlands: “Our guiding principle is to maintain smart oversight with minimal interference in the logistical chain. For years now, the automated handling process for container transport has been functioning to the full satisfaction of all involved. Efficient handling is of great value to both the government and the business community, and helps to strengthen the competitive position of the Dutch ports.”