Ocean Network Express uses digital platform PortXchange at Port of Rotterdam after successful trial

Container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) has announced it will continue to use the port call optimisation tool PortXchange (a development of the Port of Rotterdam Authority) following a successful trial. 

PortXchange enables shipping companies to monitor, analyse and optimise their container ships arriving and departing from sea ports. ONE conducted a two-month trial of the tool in 2019 and said it will now use the digital platform to make its port calls to the Port of Rotterdam “as efficient as possible”.

Keith Bamber, Port Operations Manager at ONE in London, (where vessel planning for Europe takes place), said: “The Port of Rotterdam Authority came to our office in London to present PortXchange. We were impressed by the broad application and the large amount of information that this tool offers as it could provide us with more transparency than we had in the past. That is why we decided to conduct a trial. The better we can manage our vessels in the port of Rotterdam, the more accurate our planning and the more reliable our sailing schedules.”

ONE has some 350 calls per year to Rotterdam, which means that around one ONE vessel per day calls to the port. It is important for the shipping company that the vessels arrive in Rotterdam on time, as it costs a lot of money to anchor a vessel if there is no space in the terminal yet to receive the ship. 

Bamber added: “It is difficult to manage this efficiently, but thanks to our good contacts with ECT in Rotterdam, this already went very smoothly during the week. Across the weekend, we often had insufficient information to enable us to respond adequately to changes in the schedule. Now we automatically receive a message about changes via PortXchange. Our operators can therefore contact the terminal directly on Saturdays and Sundays to check whether the information is correct and adjust the arrival time. If a vessel is already en route to Rotterdam, we will request the captain to adjust the speed. This saves fuel costs and is good for the environment.”

ONE will continue using PortXchange in the port of Rotterdam following the pilot and would also like to use the tool in other main European ports, including London Gateway and the southern Spanish port of Algeciras. 

For more information visit www.portofrotterdam.com

5th May 2020