Cloud adoption ensures Portbase is ready for the future

Portbase has successfully migrated the entire Dutch Port Community System (PCS) to the public cloud hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS). This migration signals the beginning of a new era in which the company will utilise the latest technology to optimally facilitate future developments in and around the Dutch ports.

Data hub

“The migration to the cloud is much more than simply ‘moving house’,” explains Portbase director Peter de Graaf. “Successive technological developments are emerging at breakneck speed and it’s absolutely vital that we respond in kind. With this step, Portbase has become one of the first port logistics companies to operate its services entirely from in the cloud. This further strengthens our role as a data hub for the Dutch ports.”
The Dutch Port Community System is recognised as one of the most advanced systems of any port, anywhere in the world. With some 15,000 active users, Portbase also has the largest port community in Europe. De Graaf: “We have the coverage, the data and now the technology we need to innovate, to grow and to further our efforts to create the smartest ports in Europe.”

Benefits

De Graaf continues, “The additional possibilities we’ve created with this step are extremely valuable. And not only for us, but for the community as a whole. We’ll be able to respond to and meet the commercial needs much more flexibly. It will also be much easier to change or add something new and bring new releases to production. We will also be automating as many steps of the process as possible. Flexibility has always been a key priority, but a high degree of reliability is just as important. Thanks to the new cloud environment, any disruptions that occur will have much less impact on the overall PCS performance. De Graaf: “In terms of security, an extremely mature environment has been established with AWS. Security measures for the cloud meet a larger number of standards than those that apply to traditional environments.”

The future

“Many organisations are looking to make the switch from a traditional environment to a cloud-based one,” according to De Graaf. “We’ve done just that! It took a well-thought-out master plan, an effective training procedure and a great deal of practice, all together. And crucially, you have to stick to the plan. I’m incredibly proud of where we are at now. Thanks to the latest technology, our platform is ready to face the future. Now, there’s nothing holding us back from our goal: working with the port community to further develop the Dutch ports into the smartest ports in Europe.”

Notification Local Clearance now offers more possibilities

Shortly before the summer, we introduced the new service Notification Local Clearance 2.0 for your benefit. In doing so, our first priority was ensuring your ability to quickly and easily comply with the legal obligation to submit local clearance notification to the government checkpoint Single Window for maritime and air, with no further hassle. Now that this has been achieved for both web-based and EDI clients, we’ve turned our attention to providing you with additional user possibilities as quickly as possible.

You can expect to see the following in the very near future:

• Multiple colleagues can now submit local clearance notifications simultaneously (already realised): as a result of changes to Customs processes, it was initially no longer possible for multiple people to work in Notification Local Clearance at the same time.
We have since identified a solution, meaning there is no longer any need for you and your colleagues to wait for one another to finish. Now you and multiple colleagues can submit your respective local clearance notifications to Customs simultaneously.

• Download delivery orders as PDFs with barcodes: from mid-August, you will (once again) be able to download the delivery order for every local clearance notification as a PDF, including a barcode for easy reuse in any further processing within your organisation.

• Linked B/Ls to be displayed automatically: this function is scheduled to become available in the second half of August. Any B/Ls you link in Cargo Information will immediately be displayed in the ‘New notification’ screen in Notification Local Clearance.
If you have provided a reference number of your own when creating the link, this will be shown as well. You can immediately select the B/L for which you would like to submit a local clearance notification.

• Email notification of Customs approval: as soon as possible following the previously listed actions, we will once again make it possible to have the service send an email notification to yourself or your client the moment your local clearance notification has been approved by Customs.

We will inform you of the exact date on which this option will become available via
a pop-up in the service itself.

Working group formed to identify additional desires
In the short term, we plan to meet with an extensive working group composed of shipbrokers and forwarders. During this meeting, we want to explore whether any vital aspects will be left to address once we’ve taken the aforementioned actions in the service. We will naturally share additional details of the results with you later on.

More information
Questions? Our Service Desk will be happy to assist you. They can be reached at
+31 (0)88 625 25 25 or servicedesk@portbase.com.

RWG provides status information on your container up front

Hinterland Container Notification now offers a convenient new function to road hauliers who work via internet. Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) is the first terminal where you can use this function. Before submitting a pre-notification and requesting a time slot (TAR) for RWG, you can now conveniently view the status of the container in the service itself.

How it works
Once you have indicated in Hinterland Container Notification (HCN) that you wish to drop off or pick up a new container at RWG, a button marked ‘Request status information’ will appear at the lower left of the screen.

Click this button to immediately request the status of your container from RWG: is it present, are the documents in order, and so on. The relevant status will then be displayed in your overview screen in Hinterland Container Notification, allowing you to monitor any changes in real time. You can keep track of the container 24/7. Using this same information, you can continue to pre-notify your visit and request a TAR from RWG. There is no need to re-enter this information a second time.

Meer informatie
Questions? Our Service Desk will be happy to assist you. They can be reached at +31 (0)88 625 25 25 or servicedesk@portbase.com.

Portbase and Loodswezen Rotterdam-Rijnmond save you paperwork

From now on, the personal reference number you enter in Vessel Notification when creating a new vessel visit will automatically appear on the invoice for pilot services from Loodswezen Rotterdam-Rijnmond. You will no longer need to submit this ‘Client Reference Number’ to them separately. This is our way of saving you paperwork.

By doing so, we are responding to a desire frequently expressed within the community. Previously, shipping agents often manually submitted their own reference number to the pilot services for handling a vessel visit. Thanks to our smart solution, this is no longer necessary. Everyone is able to work more efficiently.

How it works
Simply enter your personal client reference number within the ‘Visit to Port Authority’ task in Vessel Notification. The ‘Client Reference’ field can be found under ‘Other’.

More information
Questions? Our Service Desk will be happy to assist you. They can be reached at +31 (0)88 625 25 25 or servicedesk@portbase.com.

Status of new service Notification Local Clearance 2.0

You were recently connected to Notification Local Clearance 2.0. Using the latest technology, this service has now been completely rebuilt from the ground up. This will enable us to – automatically and under water – submit the obligatory local clearance notifications to the Single Window for maritime and air on your behalf. You needn’t worry about a thing – it’s all taken care of. This connection was a chief priority in light of the deadlines issued by Customs.

Various clients have since informed us that Notification Local Clearance 2.0 still lacks certain user possibilities (functionalities). We are aware of these shortcomings and offer our sincere apologies that our communication in this area fell short. Within the limits of our available capacity, our first priority was to comply with the legal obligation from Customs. Together with a working group chosen from your peers, we will be determining in the near future which missing user possibilities it will be possible to add for you in August and September.

More information
We naturally intend to keep you informed of our progress. Should you have any questions about using Notification Local Clearance 2.0, we will be happy to help. Our Service Desk is available at +31 (0)88 625 25 25 and servicedesk@portbase.com.
We have also provided a handbook for your benefit, along with a list of many frequently asked questions and their answers. Both can be found in the service, under the Support heading.

Containers

New Uniport directive for picking up your containers

Voor From 1 September 2018, it will be possible to pick up your containers from Uniport Multipurpose Terminals only if the transport documents comply with the streamlined Authorised Consignor (TA) procedure (RTO code MRN). We are adjusting our Portbase services Notification Import Documentation and Transit Declaration accordingly. From the aforementioned date, it will no longer be possible to pre-notify NT1 documents to Uniport.

Important: In connection with the new situation, it is vital that you – in a timely fashion – obtain an Authorised Consignor (TA) permit from Customs listing Uniport as a departure location. You can ask Customs to add this departure location to your permit or (if you do not yet have one) request a new Authorised Consignor (TA) permit. Please take care of this today!

Notification Import Documentation speeds up terminal handling
and hinterland logistics
The correct Authorised Consignor (TA) permit will allow you to continue taking maximum benefit from our Portbase service Notification Import Documentation after 1 September. With the permit, you can pre-notify the numbers of all your Customs import documentation to Uniport (and the other large container terminals in Rotterdam) simply and easily via a single gateway. The majority of your containers – including those with a TA document with RTO code MRN – can then be collected without showing any papers. There is no need to stop at Customs on your visit to the terminal. In this way, the Portbase services contribute to smoother handling at the terminal and faster hinterland logistics.

Changes to Transit Declaration as well
Are you using our convenient web service Transit Declaration to submit your transit declarations to Customs? Please be aware that from 1 September 2018, for containers entering the port via Uniport, this service will also accept only transport documents submitted using the streamlined Authorised Consignor (TA) procedure.

More information
Questions? Our Service Desk will be happy to assist you.
They can be reached at +31 (0)88 625 25 25 or servicedesk@portbase.com.
Further details can also be found in the letter from Uniport.

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Containerschip Maersk Line

Updated service Notification Waste Disposal from 4 July

On 4 July 2018, the updated service Notification Waste Disposal 2.0 will become available in the Port Community System (PCS). For your convenience, we have added this service as an additional task in Vessel Notification 2.0. This makes the waste declaration more accessible to you and simplifies the process of monitoring the status.

The development of Notification Waste Disposal 2.0 was prompted by the statutory changes resulting from EU Directive 2010/65. The updated service will allow you – in accordance with this new legislation – to notify waste materials to the harbour masters in ports where you also use Vessel Notification 2.0. Notification Waste Disposal now also features a number of other new improvements which make it easier to enter information. The upload function has been improved as well. This simplifies the process of automatically entering data from an Excel sheet filled in by the captain on board a
given ship.

What action must you take?
• The new Excel template for entering the waste materials present from on board
the vessel is available here. Please send this to your captains ASAP.
Instructions on using Notification Waste Disposal 2.0, along with an overview of
the statutory changes and improvements, can be found here.

When should they start using it?
• From 4 July 2018 on, Notification Waste Disposal 2.0 should be used for all
new vessel visits created in the system. This task will automatically be displayed
in Vessel Notification.
• Do you have any vessel visits which were created and send before 4 July?
You will need to finish those visits in Notification Waste Disposal 1.0.

Important: Portbase will deactivate the old service Notification Waste Disposal as of
31 July 2018. We therefore recommend that you avoid creating vessel visits with an
ETA later than 31 July until on or after 4 July. Still need to submit a Notification Waste Disposal 1.0 after 31 July? In that case, cancel this notification first and then the entire vessel visit. After that, you will need to start over and create the visit in Vessel Notification once more. This will give you access to the new Waste Disposal 2.0 task
as well.

Additional background information and details concerning the updated Notification Waste Disposal can be found in this harbour masters’ newsletter (only available in Dutch).

More information
Still have questions about how Notification Waste Disposal works? Our Service Desk will be happy to assist you. They can be reached at +31 (0)88 625 25 25 or servicedesk@portbase.com.

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All road hauliers will make the transition to Hinterland Container Notification

In the coming weeks, Portbase will switch all road hauliers who use the service Road Planning via internet over to Hinterland Container Notification. This new service will make submitting your pre-notifications to the container terminals easier and faster.

In total, some 1,100 road hauliers will be switched to the new service. The first 350 of these have already made the move. The transition takes place automatically. Once you have access to Hinterland Container Notification, you will receive a message on your Port Community System start screen to let you know. From that moment on, you will need to create and submit new pre-notifications using Hinterland Container Notification. If you have any existing pre-notifications, you will then have a period of two weeks to complete these in Road Planning. After that, this service will be deactivated. An instructional video for Hinterland Container Notification can be found here. We also have a Quick Start Guide available for you, and you can consult the list of Most frequently asked questions and their answers as well.

Aligned with users
The new service Hinterland Container Notification has been developed in close cooperation with a working group from the road transport sector. Over multiple sessions, they were consulted on how to align the new service with daily practice as effectively as possible. This video featuring AZV chair Marco Post and others, explains the benefits in greater detail. In an article, pilot participant Kleijn Transport describes the convenience of the service as ‘submitting pre-notifications in your sleep’.

Subsequent steps
Road hauliers who work with Road Planning via EDI will be transferred to Hinterland Container Notification in the following phase. Portbase is currently working to prepare an API link. We will be contacting software providers and IT departments soon to share more specific information regarding the API link to Hinterland Container Notification.

The ultimate goal is that, in the future, Hinterland Container Notification will offer a single point of entry for fast and simple pre-notification of all modalities: road, rail and inland shipping. This will make it possible to quickly change modalities when pre-notifying, and will, in general, contribute to further improving the Port of Rotterdam’s hinterland logistics.

More information
Have any other questions about Hinterland Container Notification?
Our Service Desk will be happy to assist you. They can be reached at
+31 (0)88 625 25 25 or servicedesk@portbase.com.
More information on Hinterland Container Notification can be found on our website.

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Crew and passenger notifications now only possible using new Excel sheets 1.4

The previously announced changes to the service Notification Crew and Passengers are now in effect. From today on, due to new government regulations, agents like yourself are required to include two additional pieces of information in PAX messages:

1. Travel document expiry date
2. Country that issued travel document

These fields have been made required in version 1.4 of the Excel sheet (large and small) in which the captain fills in the lists of crew and passengers. In the event you have not yet done so: please provide your captains with these new Excel sheets 1.4 immediately. From now on, notifications submitted using older versions of the Excel sheet will not be accepted.

More information
Any questions? Our Sales department will be pleased to help you. They can be reached at 088 625 25 17 or sales@portbase.com. More information on Notification Crew and Passengers can be found on our website.

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Portbase offers 100% coverage

It’s now easy to submit your VGM notifications to any and all shipping companies using our service Notification Verified Gross Mass. That’s because from now on, we offer 100% coverage. What’s more, our web-based service is suitable for use in every port in Northwestern Europe. For example, the service Notification Verified Gross Mass is also used for the ports of Antwerp, Bremen and Hamburg. You can use a single gateway at any time, day or night, and will not need to visit multiple shipping-company websites.

To line up all the benefits:
• One-stop-shop for all your VGM notifications
• 100% coverage in terms of shipping companies (click here for the overview)
• Port independent
• Easy-to-use (via internet)
• Comply with all your obligations in a flash
• Significant time savings
• Lowered administrative costs

Enter to win!
Notification Verified Gross Mass is available at an attractive price. Portbase is a non-profit organisation. If you would like to participate in this service, please sign up today. You can arrange this quickly and easily online or by contacting our Sales department via +31 (0)88 625 25 34 or sales@portbase.com.

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