New PCS login procedure

In order to ensure maximum security for the Port Community System (PCS), Portbase is introducing a new login procedure. Soon, users like yourself will log in using your own personal work e-mail address in combination with a password of your choosing. The current login method using company name, short name and password will be discontinued. You will then need to fill in only two fields of information.

What you can do to prepare
In preparation for the new login procedure, we are asking all users who log into the PCS to register a unique, personal work e-mail address. You will continue to log into the PCS using the current, familiar method until further notice.

Important! The personal work e-mail address you submit must be unique to yourself. Addresses such as info@company.com, shipsagent@company.com and so forth will not be allowed. Only one user will be permitted to log into the PCS per registered e-mail address.

The new login procedure
The new procedure for accessing the PCS will go into effect in the beginning of 2017 (the exact start date will be announced later). From then on, when you log in you will see the new login screen with two fields to be completed. You will do the following:
Step 1 In the field marked E-MAIL ADDRESS, enter the e-mail address you submitted in the preparatory stage;
Step 2 In the field marked PASSWORD, enter your existing password;
Step 3 A new screen will then appear and you will be asked to change your password. This password must be at least 8 characters in length and must always include 1 lowercase letter, 1 capital letter, 1 number and 1 symbol.

Also important to keep in mind
• After the new login procedure is introduced, you will automatically be prompted
to update your password every three months;
• You can reset your password any time you wish;
• Your password must not be the same as your e-mail address or any of your last four
passwords;
• Your account will be blocked after four incorrect login attempts. This security measure will be released
automatically after 30 minutes. If you are unable to wait that long, you can request the release of your account from your company’s main user (useradmin), or if this person is unavailable, ask the
Portbase Service Desk.
• Unlike before, you can now give an e-mail address other than the one you use to log into the PCS
to receive e-mail notifications from us.

If you did not register a personal work e-mail address in the period preceding the introduction of the new access procedure, you will not be able to log into the PCS via the new login screen. In that case, we ask that you contact our Service Desk. They be reached at +31 (0)88 625 25 25 or by e-mail at servicedesk@portbase.com.

Automatic check on quality of container numbers

Today we implemented the improvements in the service Notification Export Documentation announced earlier. As of 7 September 2016, we will automatically be carrying out extra checks on your behalf on the correctness of the container number for all export containers you pre-notify via this service. This will help you to avoid any problems upon arrival at a terminal, unnecessary corrections and delays. Thereby enabling everyone to work more efficiently. If a container number deviates, a warning will appear on the screen straight away.

More specifically, we will check for you that the container number has a logical structure (four letters followed by seven numbers) and carry out a ‘check digit control’. After all, each container number is compiled according to a global ISO standard, whereby each letter and number has its own value. The result of multiplying and dividing these values using a particular formula must be equal to the last digit in the container number.

Please note: Our extra checks don’t work for ‘shippers owned containers’. The numbering of such containers in possession of companies has a separate, different system. You can therefore ignore the warning on the screen.

For internet and Excel
We carry out checks on the data quality of the container number on all prior notifications in Notification Export Documentation via the internet, including Excel uploads. If you use Notification Export Documentation via a system interface, the check on the container number has often already been built in by your software supplier.

New Portbase IT Director to enable further innovation

ROTTERDAM – On 1 September 2016, Peter de Graaf will start work as Information & Technology Director. In De Graaf, Portbase is gaining an energetic IT expert who will enable the company’s continued innovation, allowing it to add even more value for the community.

He will succeed the current IT Director, Willem van Groenland, who was appointed ad interim in October 2015. Under Van Groenland’s guidance, the professionalisation of Portbase continued while the company grew in its role as a central hub connecting parties in maritime logistics. This role entails more than merely driving innovation; it can be political in nature as well. For this reason, the organisation has taken the time necessary to find a suitable director: one who can take its IT services to the next level and who also has experience in establishing and maintaining relationships with diverse parties.

Portbase General Manager Iwan van der Wolf is very pleased with the appointment of the new director: “Despite his relative youth at only 38 years old, Peter has vast experience in the realisation and management of smart data and information services. As IT Manager at Stedin, for example, he was responsible for innovating that company’s IT services and ICT infrastructure. In the period ahead, Portbase intends to pursue further innovation—by offering data services, among other means—and to bring additional value to the community through these efforts. Peter’s experience and his strong focus on improvement will most certainly help Portbase achieve its aims.”

For Peter de Graaf, the reasons for working with Portbase are clear as day. “I find Portbase’s position in the port industry and the many millions of messages exchanged via Portbase each day to be highly attractive prospects. What’s more, I view the continued research into and realisation of new services in cooperation with the various parties, and the accompanying stakeholder management, as major—and challenging—aspects of this position,” according to De Graaf.

APM Terminals MVII clears NCTS documents with Customs electronically

From now on, APM Terminals MVII will clear all NCTS documents for outbound transit containers with Customs electronically. This will take place via the Portbase service Clearance NCTS Export Containers. This offers advantages for all parties in the logistical chain:

Forwarders and exporters only need to pre-notify their NCTS documents via the Portbase service Notification Export Documentation. Upon arrival of a transit container at APM Terminals MVII, the service will automatically clear the accompanying document with Customs. Container details are verified one-on-one each time. From now on, mismatches belong to the past and problems with Customs afterwards are prevented.

For road, rail and barge hauliers, it will no longer be necessary to hand over the documents at the terminal. Truck drivers will not have to make a stop for that purpose when they arrive at APM Terminals MVII.

This paperless method enables both the terminal and Customs to work more efficiently, while also further streamlining the handling at the terminal.

Jouke Schaap, Head of Commercial at APM Terminals MVII: ‘All parties involved benefit from this development. It is an example of how, by working together, we can improve the logistical process and the competitive position of the Port of Rotterdam.’

APM Terminals MVII is the second container terminal in Rotterdam to implement electronic Customs clearance for NCTS documents with the help of Portbase. RWG has already been working this way for some time.

Pass your container weight (VGM) on to shipping companies simply and easily via Portbase

It will soon be possible to pass the verified gross mass (VGM) of your export containers on to shipping companies simply and easily via Portbase.

A large number of requests from our community have prompted Portbase to act quickly and develop a web-based service in short order that will comply with new amendments to the international SOLAS legislation. This service will allow you to maintain a single point of contact via the Port Community System for all your information exchange with the Dutch ports.

In the coming weeks, we will use this newsletter to keep you informed of our progress in developing the new VGM services. We will also be able to inform you of the precise date of market introduction in the near future. We are aware that the VGM requirement has been in effect since 1 July 2016. Until the Portbase service becomes available, we recommend that you follow the directions of your shipping companies when it comes to submitting VGM data.

New options in Road Planning

Two new options are now available to you in the service Road Planning. This is just one example of how we are responding to your wishes. In concrete terms, these changes involve:

• Amending or cancelling a pre-notification
From now on, after the terminal has rejected the amendment or cancellation of your pre-notification, you will be able to submit a new change or cancellation as a road haulier. Previously, the status in Road Planning remained ‘rejected’ after the first attempt. This issue has now been resolved. This option naturally applies only for terminals where the system supports the amendment and cancellation of pre-notifications. You can use this convenient overview to review all the functions available in Road Planning, as well as at which terminals you can make use of them.

• Improved terminal status
Road Planning makes it even easier to view the terminal status of your containers. When the terminal changes the status of a pre-notification to ‘accepted’ after initially rejecting the pre-notification (or vice versa), this will be visible in Road Planning. Until now, the original status would remain displayed on the screen indefinitely.

Please note!
Your assigned time slot may be different than requested
The terminal will sometimes assign you a time slot other than the one you requested. This can happen when a time slot is already full, for example, or when there is maintenance work (such as on technical systems) scheduled at the terminal. Practical experience has shown that road hauliers are not always aware of when the time slot they receive differs from the one they requested. As a result, drivers sometimes arrive at the terminal at the wrong time. We therefore recommend you always double-check the time slot you have been assigned. This will prevent you from dispatching your driver to the terminal at the wrong point in time.

New European Customs Code introduced on 1 May 2016

Portbase automatically adjusts its services
New European Customs Code introduced on 1 May 2016   

On 1 May 2016, the new European Customs Code-known officially as the Union Customs Code or UCC-went into effect. This UCC will affect all businesses importing or exporting goods to or from the European Union. Gradual implementation will take place through 2020. Portbase will ensure, wherever and whenever necessary, that the services within the Port Community System are automatically adjusted for you to comply with the new regulations. The first of these changes:

Adjustments to services Notification Local Clearance and Notification Bonded Warehouse
The types of permits used in the services Notification Local Clearance and Notification Bonded Warehouse will be changing. Permits of type C, D and E are to be phased out. A new type of permit, U (private Customs warehouse), will be added. However, the old and new permit types will remain in use alongside one another until 2019. The new type-U permits will become available at the end of this week.

Changes in service Cargo Declaration Status Report
The new Customs Code includes an extension of the term for issuing receipts for summary declarations, from 45 to 90 days. In our service Cargo Declaration Status Report, this means that businesses will automatically receive a notification on any outstanding declarations 30 (previously 20) and 60 (previously 35) days after the vessel’s arrival. This 90-day term for issuing receipts also applies to all summary declarations that have been submitted before 1 May. This is because, as of 1 May, the term for issuing receipts for these statements was automatically extended to 90 days.

Adjustment to re-export statement in Notification Export Documentation
In the past, the re-export procedure was not mandatory; it was sufficient to fill in a T1 document for the re-export of non-EU goods. This situation has changed as of 1 May. You will now need to complete an ‘EX A’ re-export declaration in the Export Control System (ECS). You can then pre-notify these goods at the terminal using the code ‘EX’ in our service Notification Export Documentation. When this has been done, the shipping company’s export manifest will discharge your re-export declaration.

However: please note! It is possible to complete a T1 document as well, if you desire, in connection with establishing responsibility during transit. If you choose this option, you must pre-notify your goods in our service Notification Export Documentation using only the code ‘RT1’. In that case, registering your ‘EX-A’ Customs document will not be necessary. The T1 document will be discharged at the moment the container terminal has received your shipment and cleared the T1 document with Customs.

Port Community System availability

In the week of 22 February, the Port Community System was interrupted on several occasions. We would like to offer our sincere apologies in the event that you were inconvenienced in any way.

A special team has now been established within Portbase in order to track down the cause of the malfunction and to find a structural solution. In addition, together with the container terminals, we are considering alternative solutions to ensure that – should the operation of the Port Community System be unexpectedly interrupted or delayed – the drop off and pick up of containers will still continue as smoothly as possible. As a general rule: the earlier you pre-notify your containers, the better.

Consultation with TLN
On 15 March, Portbase will be conducting talks with “Transport en Logistiek Nederland” (TLN) and a delegation of road hauliers. Pre-notification is a key topic on the agenda for this consultation. If you personally experience any bottlenecks in the pre-notification process, please report them to TLN via e-mail wvdheuvel@tln.nl, and be sure to c/c alliantie@tln.nl. These reported issues will be discussed in the course of the meeting.

Procedure for Customs documents via Rotterdam

So just what is the procedure for Customs documents for containers entering or leaving through Rotterdam? What can, or must, be submitted electronically in advance using Portbase? At which terminals does this apply? And when is a paper Customs form still required? These four convenient diagrams lay it all out, quickly and clearly, so you always know what to do. View and/or download them now:
• Document flows Notification Import Documentation APMT MVll, APMTR, RWG
• Document flows Notification Import Documentation BCW, ECT Delta, Euromax, Uniport
• Document flows Notification Export Documentation APMT MVll, RWG
• Document flows Notification Export Documentation APMTR, ECT Delta, Euromax, RST, Uniport