Living Labs Maritime
In a world where logistics is constantly evolving, the Port of Rotterdam is undeniably at the forefront of innovation and sustainability. Known as the largest seaport in Europe, Rotterdam handles the transshipment of over 470 million tons of goods annually, making it a vital link in global trade chains. To maintain this leading position in logistics, an efficient and future-proof system for data exchange is essential.
Portbase is working on the Basic Data Infrastructure within the Digital Infrastructure Logistics (DIL) program.
Living Lab cases
In the maritime sector, we are working hard on a BDI infrastructure that puts secure and efficient data sharing at its core. Below, you can find some of our case studies:
Secure chain
The Secure chain is a collaboration between government and industry, established to strengthen the digital resilience of logistics chains in the port. A key part of this initiative is the secure and reliable release and pickup of import containers in Dutch ports, starting with Rotterdam.
Although the implementation may seem straightforward, it requires each involved party to adjust their working methods and actively participate in every link of the chain. The traditional PIN code will be eliminated, and a closed release and pickup process will be created exclusively for authorized parties through this collaboration. A large-scale campaign informs all stakeholders about this significant change.
In 2023:
- The pilot phase has been successfully completed for establishing and testing the possibilities of digital authorizations.
- Since the summer of 2023, the Supply chain has been activated by the first users and is gradually being expanded.
In 2024:
- Starting in January, the release of import containers with high-risk products (e.g., fruit from South and Central America) began via digital authorizations.
- By March 31, all cargo from Latin America will be released through the Secure chain.
- From April onward, import containers with lower-risk products and shipping routes will be released via digital authorizations, with further scaling up taking place.
Cargo Tracking System/ port-wide RTO
Currently, each terminal maintains its own RTO administration for each of the millions of containers arriving at and departing from the Port of Rotterdam annually, which customs subsequently audits retrospectively. The Cargo Tracking System for containers simplifies and fully digitizes the movement and tracking of goods under various customs regimes to, from, and through port terminals. This creates a single reliable source of information, significantly reducing the administrative burden on businesses (such as avoiding fines), improving digital data exchange, providing greater insight into customs status-related processes, and enabling real-time supervision by customs authorities. Contributions to this system include the port-wide RTO, the Customs Dashboard, and the Transfer System.
In 2023:
- The port-wide RTO and its testing phase have been completed, during which customs and terminals reached an agreement on its use.
In 2024:
- Use of RTO and adoption of the port-wide RTO.
- By integrating the RTO data into Portbase’s Port Community System, the data owner (terminal) has the ability to share their data within the community and beyond (federated).
Container dossier
Transporting a container between the deep-sea terminal and the delivery address (and vice versa) requires ten to twenty different parties. In practice, the same information is collected by multiple parties and stored in their own systems. This often leads to outdated and incorrect information, incomplete planning, and underutilized available capacity. Although individual companies have invested heavily in automating their own processes in recent years, there is still a lack of standardized information exchange between key hinterland parties such as shippers, freight forwarders, inland operators, carriers, inland terminals, warehouses, and empty depots.
To break this cycle, Portbase aims to use the Living Lab Container file to unlock information within the logistics chain based on authorizations for the handling of a container load. This creates a single shared source of truth for all authorized parties. The Container file builds upon the foundation of the Secure chain. Both Living Labs reinforce each other.
In 2023:
- The focus was on the integration of PCS services and the reuse of already available data.
- The pilot phase was successfully completed with small-scale and low-threshold pilots to test the initial concepts.
In 2024:
- We now have insight into the information needs within the supply chain, as it was previously not always clear which party required which information.
- Alignment with the Secure chain, which enables the authorization of the supply chain initiated by the shipping line (top-down).
Expected time of container discharge at seaports
Ships are increasingly able to carry more containers—up to 24,000 TEU. As a result, loading and unloading containers at the port takes longer. There is therefore often a significant difference between the expected arrival time of a container ship and the actual discharge time of a container, sometimes up to several days. Currently, companies only know the expected time of arrival of a ship. This Living Lab helps companies gain insight into the expected discharge time of their container(s). This enables them to optimize their transport planning to the hinterland. By knowing earlier and more accurately when their container is ready for pickup, companies can make use of alternative transport modalities such as rail and inland shipping instead of road transport. These alternatives result in lower environmental impact and can reduce costs.
In 2023:
- The technical integration of various deep-sea terminals has been achieved by Portbase and DIL. Specifically for ECT, a connection has been established with their own authorization register to make ECT data accessible to authorized parties. RWG and APM, on the other hand, use Portbase’s register for this purpose.
In 2024:
- Two of the five terminals share this data via Portbase PCS, while the other three use their own channels. Discussions are ongoing with these parties to connect via Portbase.
Sharing scheduled arrival and departure times of sea vessels
By sharing more and improved expected arrival times with maritime service providers, ship visits can be handled more efficiently. Transparency in the planning of the various parties involved enables service providers in the port to coordinate their schedules. This saves costs and reduces environmental impact. Additionally, the planned and actual arrival and departure data can also be relevant for parties in the hinterland.
In 2023:
- Work has been done on an agreement framework for sharing scheduled arrival and departure times, as well as visitor data.
- Through MyDataPortal, parties can manage their authorizations themselves. This allows them to grant permission to share data about the scheduled arrival and departure times of sea vessels.
- Data is being made available for over 60,000 ship movements.
In 2024:
- The current focus is on connecting Vlissingen (North Sea Port). The parties involved have reached an agreement on this. This means that data from Vlissingen and Terneuzen will also be shared via the Port Community System.
Do you, as a company, have a logistics challenge that might be solved by applying the BDI? We would love to get in touch with you. At DIL, we offer support with manpower, expertise, and financial resources.