News
Teaming up for hinterland efficiency
In consultation with you, we are working on improvements, solutions and innovations for hinterland transport. For future-proof container transport by road, water and rail. By sharing information with each other digitally, the Dutch port gets smarter.
Quarterly Update July 2024
The second quarter of 2024 has gone by quickly again and there have been lots of developments.
Before everyone gears up for summer and heads off on holiday, we would like to look back at the past quarter with you – and, more importantly, ahead to the months to come!
In this edition of the Quarterly Update, you can read more about the developments within the Secure Chain and the changes in the service Notification Container Hinterland (HCN), the latest service updates, see which terminals are joining and more about Port Alert.
Secure Chain
A safer container import process with the Secure Chain
Since its introduction, more than 200,000 containers have already been handled via the Secure Chain. This number will only increase as more regions transition fully. From today, 1 July, North America has been connected to the Confidence Chain. This means that from now on, all North America import containers will be handled through the Confidence Chain.
Many of you took part in the survey on Hinterland Container Notification (HCN) and the Secure Chain, for which we are very grateful. We have started working with the valuable insights generated and the first results are here. It seems there is a great desire for clarification on HCN Secure Chain, and action has been taken to address this by means of the demos.
Guided tour
Naturally, there is more; we have been hard at work on a guided tour. This new tool guides users of the HCN web screens through the functionality, for the benefit of the Secure Chain. Further development is now underway so that we can use it again in the future to better support users. You will also receive an e-mail when you are nominated, or when the nomination expires. You do need to set this up (only once). Read more about setting up e-mail notifications here.
Service under development
HCN will remain a service that is constantly evolving, and in line with the Secure Chain we are making adjustments to enhance security. As a result, since 8 April 2024, PINs have no longer been visible in HCN. HCN is closely connected with the EAN numbers of the inland operator. Following ECT Delta and Euromax, Hutchison Ports Delta II will now also be more actively checking the EAN numbers of the executing inland operator and matching them to the prenotification. Other terminals will soon follow suit. In the next edition of the Quarterly Update, we will again take you through recent developments in the context of the Secure Chain. If you don’t want to wait, you can read more about the Secure Chain right here! You can also sign up.
The network continues to grow.
Last quarter again saw plenty of terminals connecting to HCN’s various modalities. Below is a review of the new connections, as well as an overview of terminals about to be connected:
Train composition deadline approaching!
The Rail Connected steering group has set 1 October 2024 as the deadline for the transition to sharing train compositions with terminals connected to HCN Rail. Rail operators can do so via the HCN Rail web screens or system interfaces. The instructions for the web screen can be found here. If you want to share train compositions via a system interface, please contact your software vendor. You can read what you need to do as a rail operator here.
IMPORTANT: As described in the article, Portbase supports this process, but we need additional data to do so. We cannot support every rail operator at the same time. So please send the necessary data ASAP.
Besides train composition, we are also working hard on sharing train ETAs within the Rail Connected programme. For this purpose, 9 scenarios were recently discussed in a working session with terminals, traction suppliers and rail operators. Among other things, we gathered valuable information on current working methods and processes. These scenarios are now being developed and presented to the working group. There will be more on the development of this functionality in a future edition of the Quarterly Update.
The ‘disruption dashboard’ and ‘activity level barometer’ functionalities are almost ready. Above all, they will provide added value for planners and drivers. It will give them better insight into current disruptions at the port, so that they can adjust planning accordingly. This will result in higher efficiency and smooth throughput. We will be focusing on rolling out these aspects after the summer. In addition, team Port Alert is further developing a ‘rain alarm’ and a ‘digital check-in’. Keep an eye out for the next edition of the Quarterly Update, at the end of September, for more information.
All HCN users can now see additional data from multiple terminals in the service. Regardless of modality and connection, everyone has access to the same information. The provision of data from RWG and APMT MVII provides you with the following benefits:
– Reliable data directly from the terminal
– Greater efficiency in the logistics chain
– Optimal planning for hinterland parties
Can’t see the extra data yet? Read what action to take here
What has already been achieved in HCN?
1. For HCN Road, it is now possible to remove the ‘Remain on Truck’ container from a visit.
2. APMT MVII correctly processes adjustments to TAR.
3. HPD2 supports status requests for Road. For Barge, this operation has been greatly improved.
Quarterly Update February 2024
Two months into 2024, we would like to inform you of the focus for the coming months, for Hinterland. In this edition of the Quarterly Update, you will, among other things, get more information about the developments within the Secure Chain and the changes to the service Hinterland Container Notification (HCN), the latest updates to the service and see which terminals are joining.
Major shipping companies/shipbrokers have committed to handle all Latin America cargo through the Secure Chain by 31st of March 2024. To increase safety, pin codes will soon disappear from Hinterland Container Notification (HCN). Truck drivers will then need a TAR code to visit a terminal. Five of Rotterdam’s major terminals announced they will soon be validating EAN numbers at the gate.
Is your organisation ready for the Secure Chain?
The 31st of March 2024 deadline is approaching. So, inform your client when your organisation will be ready to work through the Secure Chain. And encourage your client to participate in the online demo. During this demo, Portbase will tell you all about the use of Cargo Controller and the Secure Chain.
All throughout 2024 we will continue to connect terminals to the HCN network. This way, we continue to broaden the coverage and increase participation. Because by connecting more parties to HCN, we broaden coverage and enhance participation, leading to increased efficiency.
An overview of recent developments:
– RBC Cetem is connected to HCN Barge and Nextlogic
– ECT has enabled Guideline Loading for Barge and Nextlogic
– ECT makes the use of TAR/RCI at ‘Security in’ mandatory for road transport
– CTT Rotterdam is currently, as the first inland terminal, connecting to HCN Road.
– Q Terminals (Kramer) is currently preparing to connect its RCT, DCS and City locations to HCN Barge
There is also growing interest outside the Port of Rotterdam from various terminals and depots to connect to Hinterland Container Notification. We will keep you updated on developments.
The mobile version of the Hinterland Container Notification (HCN) Road service is getting an upgrade. For example, the mobile version gets a similar design to the desktop screens.
Tabs conforming to the desktop tabs, for improved navigation, and a date filter have recently been added. Sorting by ‘pre-notification status’, ‘last edited pre-notification’ and ‘time slot’, and filter options ‘pick-up/drop-off’ and ‘terminal’ are yet to be added.
Secure chain symbol
If the container goes through the Secure Chain, but NO commercial release is present yet, the open shield is shown. Has the commercial release been issued via the Secure Chain? Then a closed shield with a tick will be shown. This allows you to see the status of the situation immediately. 
Read more about HCN and the Secure Chain here.
Search performance
Improvements are not only coming on the front end of HCN Road. Under the bonnet, we are also working hard to implement improvements. For instance, we are switching to Flux search. With this switch, we expect a more efficient, stable and faster data search. With Flux, Portbase is in charge of the management and we keep control of our aggregations. We are therefore confident that with the introduction of Flux search in HCN Road, the user-friendliness and performance of the search function will improve significantly. Should you still encounter problems, please report them to our Customer Service.
A new additional API endpoint
To receive data centrally even more easily via a system link, an additional endpoint is added to the API. This will unlock information from three values, voyage, handlings and shipments, in one endpoint. The existing /lists contains a combination of updates for voyage and detached handling. In the /lists/all, the /lists/shipments has been added. The distinction is made via an attribute type that can have the values VOYAGE, DETACHED_HANDLING or SHIPMENT. This endpoint is expected to be available from February.
In early January, the functionality to add an extra rail operator on a rotation went live. Now Portbase is working on the Train Composition functionality, which is expected to go live in Q2. Train composition allows rail operators to send the train composition per visit to the terminal for scheduled train visits, both inbound and outbound. This can be sent by the operator via an upload in HCN rail or via API. The information is then displayed in HCN Rail web screens and available to rail freight parties via the tracking API.