With PortXchange, a development of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, shipping companies can monitor, analyze and optimize the calls to and departures from the seaports of their container ships. ONE conducted a two-month trial of the tool in 2019.
Insight and transparency
“The Port of Rotterdam Authority has come to present PortXchange at our office in London,” said Keith Bamber, Port Operations Manager at ONE in London, where vessel planning for Europe takes place. “We were impressed by the wide deployability and the large amount of information that this tool offers. For us this would lead to more transparency than we had in the past. That is why we decided to do a trial. The better we can manage our ships in the port of Rotterdam, the more accurate our planning and the more reliable our sailing schedules. ”
Just in time
ONE has about 350 calls a year in Rotterdam, which means that about one ONE ship calls at the port of Rotterdam per day. It is important for the shipping company that the ships arrive in Rotterdam just-in-time. It costs a lot of money to drop a ship because, for example, the terminal does not yet have space to receive the ship. Bamber: “It is difficult to manage this efficiently, but thanks to our good contacts with ECT in Rotterdam, this already went very smoothly during the week. During the weekend we often had insufficient information to be able to respond adequately to changes in the schedule. Now we automatically receive a message about changes via PortXchange. This also allows our operators to contact the terminal directly on Saturdays and Sundays to check whether the information is correct and to adjust the arrival time. If a ship is already en route to Rotterdam, we will ask the captain to adjust the speed. This saves fuel costs and is good for the environment. ”
Looking forward
During the trial, the Port of Rotterdam Authority modified PortXchange’s user interface on several points at ONE’s request. “We wanted a timeline with the real-time sailing speed, but also the required sailing speed for timely mooring at the terminal.” The good cooperation between the PortXchange team of the Port Authority and the ONE operators in London and Rotterdam enabled this request to be granted quickly. The ONE vessel planners initially had to get used to PortXchange and gain confidence that the information that the tool offers corresponds to reality. Once that step was taken, they quickly reaped the benefits of working with PortXchange. “They can now manage their schedules much better and plan further ahead. Captains can adjust sailing speeds more flexibly. ”
Expansion desired
ONE will continue with PortXchange in the port of Rotterdam after the pilot and would also like to use the tool in other European mainports, including London Gateway and the southern Spanish port of Algeciras. This would further increase efficiency, according to Bamber. Some twelve people now work with the system at the ONE offices in London and Rotterdam. “A nice, user-friendly solution,” Bamber summarizes. “What we would like to see in PortXchange is information about the tides. When loaded, our ships from Asia protrude up to 16 meters deep. Even in very deep ports such as Rotterdam, we remain dependent on the water levels. Information about this in PortXchange would be a useful addition. ”