The Port of Hamburg has officially announced the arrival of a new IT platform to manage vessels navigating the River Elbe.
At both the Port of Hamburg and the River Elbe, an influx of larger vessels has resulted in even narrower handling times.
Therefore, the Port of Hamburg has sought a solution, with the development of the Port River Information System Elbe, or PRISE – a new IT platform that will bring together all information on ship arrivals and departures from all parties involved in the handling process.
The system is soon to be put into full service after a year of developmental testing at the Port of Hamburg.
PRISE allows for a more rapid flow of information between all parties in order to cope with the growing level of complexity involved in planning and execution of port services.
The system will collate data from terminals, pilots, shipping companies/brokers, tugs and mooring staff alongside the Harbour Master Authority to improve the flow of traffic up the River Elbe.
PRISE was developed by a series of contributors to ensure the best system possible – Software firm Dakosy in partnership with Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), Eurogate, the Elbe Pilots Association, the Port of Hamburg Pilots Association, and the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA).
Heinrich Goller, managing director of HHLA said “Everyone involved benefits from the transparent flow of information. PRISE provides greater efficiency for our management of the sequencing and arrival of container mega-ships. Our customers and also the port as a whole benefit from this.”
The technology was specially designed for the requirements of the Port of Hamburg. Data compiled includes; berth planning and registration at the terminal, status information regarding a ships position on the river, notifications from pilots and assignments for tugs and mooring staff.
The system will also supply water level forecasts provided by the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH).
According to harbour master Jörg Pollmann the platform is already playing a significant role at HPA, which coordinates berth registrations for all of the terminals at the Port of Hamburg: “PRISE enables transparency throughout the port and always offers the latest information on all shipping movements. PRISE is an important unique selling point for us. No other port in the world has a platform of this kind.”
Financing was supplied by terminal operators HHLA and Eurogate.
Dieter Spark, Chief Executive Officer of Dakosy was delighted with the response the system received during its trial: “As a port community system for the Port of Hamburg, for over 30 years we have offered innovative electronic platforms for port economy, enabling optimisation and acceleration of import and export processes. PRISE optimally rounds off our portfolio. We are particularly impressed by the fact that this platform is already well-known far afield from Hamburg.”
Peter Zielinski, managing director of Eurogate’s Container Terminal Hamburg also offered his praises: “This central information platform enables us to plan ahead further into the future, react more rapidly to changes at short notice and make more efficient use of our resources.”
