‘No more stopping at Customs’

At Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) on Maasvlakte 2, information always precedes the cargo. Before containers are dropped off or picked up, all the necessary details must be pre-notified electronically to the fully-automated terminal via Portbase. Obviously, having to present paper documents at Customs at the terminal for outbound containers in transit (NCTS) does not really fit with this way of working. “So that has now changed at RWG,” says Public Affairs & Communications Manager Niels Dekker. “We are the first deep-sea terminal to be awarded the Customs permit Authorised Consignee. This means we are able to electronically release pre-notified NCTS containers at Customs via the Portbase service Clearance NCTS Export Containers. Truck drivers no longer have to stop at Customs to hand over the NCTS document. The same is true for containers on trains and barges.”

There are other benefits too, Dekker explains. “As soon as a NCTS container arrives, the transport is automatically terminated in the terminal and Customs system and the Customs embargo is lifted. The container is immediately available for loading onto the sea-going vessel. It does not have to wait for release by Customs.” The benefits also extend further than the terminal itself. “Because we receive the NCTS documents electronically and then release electronically at Customs, mismatches will become a thing of the past. For the exporters and forwarders submitting documents using the Portbase service Notification Export Documentation, this means that they will rarely if ever have problems of non-discharges and therefore enquiries by Customs. For RWG, the service Clearance NCTS Export Containers is an important next step in achieving a Customs-free terminal. In this way, we are also establishing efficient and reliable handling for this flow.”