A recent trial with the digital information platform PortXchange (formerly known as Pronto) at APM Terminals Rotterdam yielded a significant reduction in the average idle time on departure of Maersk vessels. This had benefits for everyone involved: the terminal, the shipping line, the ship agent and the nautical service providers, Port of Rotterdam said in its release.
Participants in the trial were APMT, Maersk, the ship agent Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), the towing services Svitzer and Fairplay and the local pilots of Loodswezen. A baseline measurement among 177 ships had established that on average, vessels wait 47 minutes before leaving the quay after cargo handling at the terminal has been rounded off. Surely there are opportunities to cut this ‘idle time on departure’.
After the start of the trial in September 2019, the partners met every week to jointly compare the plannings – and their actual execution. They mainly focussed on ships with an idle time on departure of over 45 minutes.
By January, the average idle time on departure had decreased from 47 to 32 minutes. According to Michiel Zeevaart, the terminal’s regular updates played a significant role in this improvement.
The collaborating parties are following PortXchange’s on-going development with great interest and urge other parties in the sector to join the platform. They have announced that they will continue to use PortXchange.
In the meantime, a large share of Rotterdam’s container sector has already joined PortXchange – including all deep sea terminals. Right now, the Port of Rotterdam Authority is focusing on connecting other segments.