Best grades for Port of Hamburg IT

International port organisation IAPH analyses port communications systems

The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) recently put 13 port communication systems to the test in a wide-ranging analysis. Among these was Hamburg’s DAKOSY Datenkommunikationssystem AG. The findings were summarized in the Port Community Systems Benchmark Survey.

For over six months IAPH’s international team of five experts took the time to scrutinize port communications and telematics systems. Along with Hamburg, IT providers and port administrations in Le Havre and Marseilles (France), Felixstowe (United Kingdom), Fukuoka and Nagoya (Japan), Antwerp (Belgium), Seoul (South Korea), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Barcelona (Spain) were among those covered. The systems surveyed are regarded in the industry as cutting-edge worldwide.

A crucial marketing argument for Hamburg as port location

“On many criteria, DAKOSY applications are found right at the top,” said a delighted Claudia Roller, CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. For a considerable time, in her experience, for port customers the quality of parallel IT service provision has been regarded as being of the same significance as cargo handling itself, or hinterland connections. “The findings of IAPH‘s neutral survey and Hamburg’s performance will therefore constitute an additional significant marketing argument for running services through our port,” Claudia Roller is convinced. In addition to such basic criteria as the length of time in operation and hence experience of system suppliers, a whole series of additional points were considered in the survey. These included corporate structure, annual revenue, type of use (whether optional or obligatory for port customers), production cost of the core application, or number of companies integrated.

“Functional spread and degree of automation are the two main criteria where we are in the leading group with DAKOSY,” comments Ulrich Wrage, a CEO of DAKOSY AG. “For instance, we display considerably more functions than the systems in other ports. That means that the integration of separate data flows as well as the degree of data reuse, for instance through our import platform, can be rated as extremely high in Hamburg.” “The findings of the survey indicate that apart from DAKOSY, none of the systems analyzed has yet implemented extension of the communication chain to the waterside,” he continued.

Sole port to offer waterside communication

It is this waterside communication, or the data on barges reaching Hamburg via the Elbe, which is of constantly growing importance for Claudia Roller and others.  “Even if the total number of ship movements on the Elbe is declining, the number of ultra-large containerships is still rising. And that brings growing complexity of the processes and planning of ship clearance, since an enormous number of boxes have to be shifted for each ship’s call. We therefore need faster data for all the companies involved and therefore greater transparency for the whole process.” DAKOSY can here utilize its new IT platform designed specifically to meet Hamburg’s requirements, namely PRISE, or Port River Information System Elbe. This aims to combine all existing data on the vessel’s arrival, handling and departure, making this available in real-time to all those involved, e.g., shipbrokers, tugboat operators, mooring companies and above all, terminals.

All operators in the Port of Hamburg benefit: “With this exclusive feature setting us apart from other ports we simplify planning of ship arrivals and departures. The opportunities for reacting to last-minutes changes are also substantially improved for all partners,” comments Jens Meier, Managing Director of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), on the introduction of PRISE. The HPA is responsible for the entire management of the port and among other things the point of contact for all shore and waterside infrastructure matters, as well as the safety and security of ship traffic and in-port railway installations. 

In addition, DAKOSY won credit for the number of smaller firms that have been able to connect with the platforms made available. None of the other port communications systems covered in the survey possess such a large, additional range of software catering for forwarding and Customs. Hamburg is also up among the leaders for the integration and tracking of hinterland services. Apart from the Hanseatic port, only Marseilles and Barcelona offer this facility.

In its 73-page survey that is not in the public domain, however, the IAPH has refrained from framing a conclusive ranking of all providers and their applications, since the large variety of differences between the systems covered, not least in the needs they meet, would make a fair, direct comparison virtually impossible. 

Some background on the IAPH:

The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) is regarded as one of the most important port alliances active worldwide. This Tokyo-based non-profit and non-governmental organisation (NGO) represents its members in the very highest international bodies. For instance, the IAPH has the right to participate in the work of the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The membership includes leading ports from 90 countries. The IAPH was founded by delegates from 38 ports and maritime organisations from 14 countries in Los Angeles on 7 November 1955. There are currently around 230 regular members, including both state and commercial port operators and also port authorities. Over 60 percent of the tonnage in worldwide sea trade is handled via the ports represented by this global alliance. In worldwide container traffic, the proportion actually exceeds 80 percent. Apart from full members, IAPH has more than 100 associate members. These are drawn from production, logistics and port-related services as well as national and regional trade associations.

The IAPH foremost aim is to develop and promote good relations and cooperation between all the world’s ports. At the same time it sees itself as a forum for the exchange of views and experience on current trends in the port business.