RheinPorts expands IT collaboration with Antwerp
Published by Angharad Lock,
Digital Assistant Editor
Dry Bulk,
RheinPorts covers ports on the upper Rhine including Basel, Weil am Rhein and Mulhouse. Antwerp's Barge Traffic System (BTS) has been successfully implemented with it since 2015. Under the name of RheinPorts Information System (RPIS) it streamlines traffic on the river and the process of booking terminals in the ports concerned.
Port alderman, Marc Van Peel, commented: "Inland ports are looking for ways of improving the scheduling of barge movements. We are proud that the port of Antwerp is able to help them with our in-house technology that we have been using successfully in our own port for the past five years. I anticipate that this close collaboration will be another step towards supporting even more ports on the Rhine."
Tests are currently under way to roll out RPIS also in the ports of Strasbourg, Kehl and Colmar. Implementation is also being considered in other ports on the Rhine, such as Karlsruhe and Mannheim.
RheinPorts has asked Antwerp Port Authority to integrate RPIS with AIS (Automatic Identification System) offered by Voies Navigables de France. This will give RheinPorts automatic access to the name, position, speed and route of every barge.
In addition Antwerp Port Authority is developing a module for RheinPorts for electronically exchanging loading and unloading lists between barge operator and terminal. Later this year a third module is due to be introduced, namely automatic Customs reporting for cross-border traffic with Switzerland.
John Kerkhof, Manager of Antwerp Port Community Systems (APCS) declared: "We are particularly proud that RheinPorts has asked us to expand the existing collaboration. This demonstrates once more that the port of Antwerp leads the way in electronic support for the supply chain."
Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/ports-terminals/24022017/rheinports-expands-it-collaboration-with-antwerp/
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