PRISE makes Hamburg faster – DAKOSY implements new platform for Port of Hamburg

As the economic crisis abates, the forecasts for German imports and exports and hence also the Port of Hamburg are becoming more optimistic. The number of ship movements on the Elbe – including large ships – is set to rise again over the medium-term, which means greater complexity in the processes for planning and implementation. Faster access to information for all the companies involves, and hence greater transparency over the entire process, are called for.

A new IT platform specially tailored to the needs of the Port of Hamburg, entitled PRISE ("Port River Information System Elbe") can and will help here. This is intended to bring together information on the areas of ship arrivals, cargo processing and clearance and ship departures, in order to provide up-to-date data to everyone involved. In this way, the ship arrival and departure planning can be facilitated, while improving the response times to short-term incidents. As part of working parties, the concepts and control of DAKOSY have been formulated by the companies or sectors involved in the process, in their capacity as designated users of the future platform. These include the two major Hamburg terminals EUROGATE and HHLA, the HPA – Hamburg Port Authority, the Brotherhood of Elbe Pilots, the Hamburg Harbour Pilots’ Association, the tugs and mooring boatmen.

The project partners of PRISE expect improved information, allowing them to optimize their scheduling and planning processes. PRISE not only has a positive effect on work processes but also ensures greater transparency as an up-to-date information platform. The collective information includes berth planning and registration for the terminal, status information regarding ship positions on the Elbe from the "German Bight" through to "mooring", the ETA ship lists of the Elbe pilots, the responsibility notifications of the tugs and boatmen and, last but not least, the water level forecasts of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany (BSH). All information is automatically evaluated by PRISE, so that everyone involved can access diverse status information straightaway. PRISE will also issue warning signals, for example if large ships meet on the Elbe, which together exceed the maximum possible ship beams, or if the water level forecast makes it problematic for a ship to sail in or out.

The concept phase of PRISE was successfully completed at the beginning of 2010. DAKOSY AG is currently implementing the project. According to current planning, PRISE is set to enter the pilot phase in January 2012. This ambitious project planning and implementation corresponds to the high expectations of the harbour economy in regard to the new IT system. PRISE will enable the efficiency of ship processing at the Port of Hamburg to be retained or even enhanced even when the number of ship movements increase.