In accordance with its clear commitment to Short Sea Shipping, the Port Authority of Bilbao took part in the closing conference of the first phase of the ShortSea XML project held in Paris. The project is developing open standardised messages for all participants in the SSS door-to-door logistics chain, and its aim is to facilitate information exchanges, improve provision of services and to reduce costs.
During the conference, work which took two years to complete including message development in relation to scheduling, booking, manifests and cargo status was presented.
In parallel, pilot projects between EWALS, a logistics supplier, and a shipping operator, Norfolk Line, have begun; another between the same line and Mars, a shipper, and Samskip; and another between UECC and the Port of Kristiansand, etc.
This project fits perfectly into the strategic development of the e-puertobilbao telematics platform with regard to the use and promotion of standards backed by organisations of internationally recognised status, as well as the opening of the platform to communications with other ports using the same language, their respective telematics platforms and international operators. This allows the Port Authority to consolidate an open and competitive position of the Port and the maritime-port community of Bilbao towards the improvement and development of shipping services in the Atlantic Arc. Thus, for example, EWALS in joint venture with Transfennica, one of the conference sponsors, have embarked on the line offering the first Atlantic motorway of the sea service between Bilbao and Zeebrugge.
Clear commitment to Short Sea Shipping
The ShortSea XML project is funded by the Marco Polo Programme under Common Learning, and its participants are message standardisation organisations (SMDG, Norstella); members of SSS promotion centres from Norway, Finland, Germany, Holland and France; telematics platforms or Port Community Systems from Rotterdam, Antwerp and Bilbao; Lys Line, Color Line, Sea-cargo, Container Ships, Samskip, Norfolk Line and UECC shipping lines as well as ports, shippers and land haulage companies.
As from now, the project will take care of the maintenance of the messages developed and of promoting its use as a specific tool enabling an improvement in short sea shipping services. To achieve this, a specific users group is to be set up within the SMDG (which the Port of Bilbao has belonged to since 1996), another group of users in Europe, and finally, in parallel, participation in the development platforms for projects of new Marco Polo calls will be studied.