PD Ports has launched its new Port Community System (PCS), alongside the help of European partner the Port of Rotterdam.
The new digital solution from the international partnership was created with the intention of improving efficiencies and boosting the international competitiveness of Teesport and the River Tees.
The system provides users with a single source of information including live shipping movements and weather data. Already the PCS has logged over 200 active users in just four weeks.
“Throughout the development of the PCS, we collaborated with an extensive number of stakeholders, as well as our partners at the Port of Rotterdam, which has led to the successful roll out of the new system, ahead of schedule, said Teesport Harbour Master, Paul Brooks.
“Within just four weeks we can already see the value of the PCS, with our 75% of users utilising the platform on a daily basis to access key real-time information as well as receive live notifications about the status of their vessel arrivals.”
Through the development and implementation of the PCS, PD Ports worked closely with key stakeholders across Teesport. This included allowing key companies to trial the system before the launch, shipping company Graypen is just one example of this.
Agency Manager of Graypen, Christian Melvin, added “Graypen has been part of the consultation process for the new Port Community System from the outset and are really happy with the outcome now that the system has gone live. The continued opportunity for input and ongoing conversations with PD Ports enables us to feel very included in the process.
“We have now been using the system for a number of months and the process is extremely easy and has streamlined all of the pre-arrival documents to one place for our submission.”
The launch of the PCS comes as part of the first phase of development in the further digitalisation of Teesport, to step towards smart port status. It was announced in February 2021 that PD Ports and the Port of Rotterdam would be working together to help achieve this.