Dakosy News

The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) will implement the new Port Railway IT system, transPORT rail, in the night of 27 to 28 September 2014. To keep disruption on the tracks to a minimum, the switchover will take place overnight. The new system is another milestone in the HPA’s smartPORT strategy. Once in operation, the Port of Hamburg will have in place the most modern, produc-tion-optimising rail logistics information system in the world. transPORT rail coordinates train trips and track occupation, supports train loading processes in the Port of Hamburg and ensures the transparent exchange of data between all parties involved. In future, the approximately 115 railway undertakings (RU) operating in the Port of Hamburg will be able to rely on automated communication via a data interface.

PRISE, the Port River Information System Elbe, will soon be officially launched following a one-year trial. The new IT platform will bring together all information on ship arrivals and departures from all of the parties involved in the handling process: the terminals, pilots, shipping companies/brokers, tugs and mooring people as well as the Harbor Master Authority. At the Port of Hamburg and on the Elbe, an increasing number of ever-larger ships require handling within narrow time frames. A more rapid flow of information between all of the involved parties is essential in order to cope with the growing level of complexity for planning and execution.

The European Port Community Systems Association (EPCSA) is determined to keep its focus on the important issues and maintain close contact with officers and decision-makers in the European Commission, according to the association’s new chairman and vice-chairman. Alan Long, managing director of Felixstowe-based Maritime Cargo Processing (MCP), has been appointed chairman of EPCSA, and Piet Jan ten Thije, strategy and business director of Rotterdam-based Portbase, is the new vice chairman of the association.