Hinterland Container Notification Barge

By clicking on 'Loading' or 'Discharge' or the 'Visit voyage ID' (on the right of the screen, see screenshot) you have the possibility to see handlings for loading or discharging only. The filter is activated when the word ‘Loading’ or ‘Discharge’ is highlighted in orange. This filter is will stay activated when navigating through visits and also across sessions. So, if you don't see a container make sure you have selected the right filter.

This means that the terminal has changed something in a visit. For example, that the visit has been accepted.

The blue orb for a visit disappears (for everyone) when someone presses the 'Acknowledge update' button.

For the rotation and visits when viewing a rotation:

The filter works in several ways. Always make sure you have selected the correct date range.
Do you use the search bar? Use at least 3 characters to find what you are looking for.

The minimum call size check in HCN Barge applies to calls at ECT Delta/Euromax and RWG. These terminals can amend the minimum call size per visit. However, this will only be permitted in very exceptional cases.

Please contact ECT CAL or RWG Berthplanning to request an amendment.

To quickly move through the date fields, fill in the first field (in full or in part) and then use tab to jump to the next field.

Date example: the system automatically grabs the complete date of the current month after you enter the day of the month (for example 15) and press tab on the keyboard.

The dashboard offers real-time insight into your handlings in 4 boxes:

• Detached: Contains status requests, or handlings (containers) that are not yet linked to a terminal visit.
• Expected: Contains prenotifications, or handlings (containers) that are linked to a terminal visit. This does not mean that the appointment is already fully accepted. Keep a close eye on the statuses.
• In Operation: This means that the scheduled truck is currently loading and/or discharging the containers at the terminal.
• Completed: The containers have been delivered or collected. The prenotification is complete. You can find more information about gate-in and gate-out here.

Note: Not all terminals send gate-in/out information to MCA Road, in which case you can check the terminal's website for gate in/out information.

You can cancel the status request in the MCA web screen. However, no cancellation will be forwarded to the terminal.

On the terminal side, the status request expires as soon as a new status request or prenotification is submitted. Or if the term of the status request expires.

You may enter FLAT or TANK here.

The seal number you enter in your prenotification must always be between two and fifteen positions long. Entering a longer number or only a single full stop or a single space is not permitted.

You can view the history within the service. Click on the rotation and then on the ‘history’ tab.

There you will find the event history (a log) like the printscreen below. This shows you all the events that took place on that rotation. By clicking on an event, the rotation is shown as it appeared at that moment in the past.

Note: you can search within the history by using the search function CTRL+F.

Once you have cancelled a rotation or visit, it will no longer be displayed on the HCN Barge and HCN Rail web page.

The terminal will receive a “Cancellation Requested” status update in connection with the cancelled visit/rotation.

As soon as the terminal accepts the cancellation, the visit or rotation will no longer be visible on the terminal web page of HCN Barge / HCN Rail.

There are search filters within the screens. By entering one or more search terms, you can create a list. Search terms can be combined by means of a space. A search is performed on the words you see in the list but also on words and fields in the entire prenotification/status request, visit or rotation.

Examples: Go to the list of 'Handlings' or the 'Handlings' tab in a visit.

Below is a summary of known codes which the terminal can communicate back to you via the handling status and which you can search on using the search filter.

Common browsers including Microsoft Edge are generally supported. The preference for optimum use is Google Chrome. Internet Explorer, the Microsoft predecessor to Edge, is not supported (from October 31, 2021).

You can subscribe to e-mail notifications for prenotifications and/or visits via the 'Configuration' tab in HCN Road, HCN Barge and HCN Rail.

Please note- if you use a group e-mail address, make sure you only register one colleague for these e-mails in order to avoid multiple identical notifications being delivered.

E-mail containers

It is also possible to e-mail container statuses directly from HCN to yourself or an external email address.

For example, if you see 5/50, this means: 5 handlings are linked to this rotation or visit and 50 containers are notified as the expected number to discharge. As a result, you can see that you can still link multiple handlings to this visit without exceeding the expected number to discharge.

Please note: as soon as the barge goes into operation, actual numbers are shown, for example, 2/40 = 2 containers actually loaded of a total of 40 containers prenotified for loading during this visit.

The numbers after the warning icon indicate how many containers there are issues within the handling status.

No, this information is not used by the terminals. This may change in the future.

Go to the rotation and add one or more barge operators under the 'Cargo declarant' tab.

There is no validation of whether the voyage number is unique.

Yes, it is possible to use Excel to upload handlings in HCN Road, HCN Rail and HCN Barge.

Steps to upload Excel sheet in HCN:

• Go to the service HCN Road, HCN Barge or HCN Rail
• Click on the ‘Rotations’ tab
• Find the relevant barge and open the rotation
• Search for the visit and open this by clicking
• Within the visit, click through to the ‘Handlings’ tab
• Click on ‘Download XLS template’
• Enter the status requests/pre-notification information in the template (Excel sheet)
• Click on 'Upload handlings'
• Select whether you want to upload the information as a status request or as a pre-notification

MCA Barge sends a cancellation of the prenotification to the terminal. A status request is then sent to the terminal. It can be found as a separate status request in the web screen under the Handlings -> "Detached handlings" tab.

If you link the prenotification to another visit, MCA Barge will send a cancellation of the prenotification to the terminal. A new prenotification will then be sent to the terminal of the new visit. It will be available under "Handlings" of the new visit.

You will continue to receive updates on the handling status if the terminal supports them. Click here to visit the functionality overview.

You can cancel the prenotification and make your changes in the same prenotification. You then resend the prenotification.

Please note: every prenotification is given a unique label within HCN by which Portbase recognises the transaction. You can change, cancel and resubmit this prenotification with a unique label at any time. As long as you continue to use the same original prenotification, you pay for only one transaction.

View the Functionality Matrix to see whether the terminal supports a modification message.

The processing time varies depending on the terminal and the moment in time; it is partly dependent on the number of messages to be processed at any one time.

In addition, if you submit a modified prenotification or status request, it will not be forwarded to the terminal until the terminal has replied to the previous prenotification or status request. In short, by repeatedly submitting a status request/prenotification, you can create a queue for yourself.

History

By clicking on 'History', you can view the progress of the message exchange between the terminal and your organisation. That way, you will always be aware of the latest status of your status application or prenotification.

If you submit a new prenotification with the same combination, the prenotification will be rejected.

A prenotification may occur only once with the combination of:

1. Container number
2. Direction (loading/discharging)
3. Clearance reference/booking number
4. Terminal
5. Shipping company

A status request can be submitted multiple times; however, once is enough to receive ongoing changes to the handling status.

You can find the shipping company codes (SCAC codes) within the service HCN. Click on your name at the top right and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on ‘Shipping company list’ to see the last known shipping companies that HCN supports.

Subject: Export Customs document

Dear relation,

In the context of the new functionality for handling the Unloading/Loading list in Hinterland Container Notification (MCA), we would like to draw your attention to the following. There is no need to register an export customs document at ECT when the carrier delivers the container at the terminal. To our knowledge, this is different from APMT and RWG.

ECT will report a green status back to MCA for an export container, If everything is in order. Even in the case that there is no export customs document registered. A green status at ECT therefore does not say anything about the presence of this document. If you want to check the presence of the document, you can use the Portbase-MED screen. This information cannot be found via the MCA screen. We strongly recommend you to do this. To prevent that your container is not loaded on the deepsea vessel, because of the absence of an export document.

ECT is not liable for the proper transmission of this message.

No rights can be derived from the content of this message.

Use the free tool Gadwin Printscreen.

It is also possible to directly e-mail statuses of selected handlings to an e-mail address.

View the Quick Start Guide under the ‘E-mail Notifications’ tab to see how this works.

Log in via this link.

No login details yet? Request this via your own (operational) manager.

The moment you deviate from the proposed sailing route, Nextlogic will consider the terminals you have skipped as completed. The barge operator must then re-enter these skipped call(s) in the rotation and Nextlogic will have to plan the calls again. This automatically results in delays, a less favourable planning and more work for the barge operator. To ensure a reliable integrated planning, it is therefore crucial that you always adhere to the sailing plan listed on the web screen as a skipper.

Check portbase-nextlogicconnect.com

Each participant has an agreement with Portbase for Hinterland Container Notification (HCN) Barge and a contract with Nextlogic for the integrated planning. Portbase and Nextlogic also have a contract between themselves which sets out the service agreements. An important part of this is that ownership of the supplied data remains with the participants themselves at all times.

Nextlogic and Portbase are working together to properly connect the terminal operators and depot operators that are currently already participating in Hinterland Container Notification (HCN) Barge and in Nextlogic in the new situation. See here which terminals are connected to the Portbase service HCN Barge. See here which parties have registered for the 1^st pilot of Nextlogic (only available in Dutch).

If you have API connections, then you will only have to make use of web screens in special cases. When you initially temporarily connect via EDI, you must use the web screens for providing additional information for each inland barge call. The aim is for every barge operator to switch to the HCN Barge API connection as soon as possible.

In the case of APIs, you use the web screens for:

• requesting fixed windows details;
• requesting rotation and call details, such as Planned Time Scope in, ATAT and ATDT;
• viewing/entering call details, such as viewing the status of an agreement or manually finalising a loading/unloading list;
  input of master data;
• requesting location details and locations with available capacity;
• requesting list of hazardous substances (UN numbers);
• entering (incidental) (un)available ship information.

In the case of EDI, you perform the following supplementary to the planning:

• entering call details such as number of containers, size of containers;
• linking containers to call;
• entering rotation data, such as TEU on board and scope in/out location.

To report malfunctions in the pre-notification and the integrated planning, please contact our Customer Service at +31 88 625 25 25 or Customer Service.

Outside office hours you can call the emergency number at +31 6 518 844 56. More information about our Customer Service can be found here.

Step 1 is for you to start working with the Portbase service Hinterland Container Notification (HCN) Barge via APIs as soon as possible. Check out the API specifications HCN Barge here. Are you not yet using Portbase? Then first register for the service HCN Barge. At the same time, register as a participant with Nextlogic. Via HCN Barge, you will then be able to make full use of the integrated planning

Step 1 is for you to start working with the Portbase service Hinterland Container Notification (HCN) Barge via APIs as soon as possible. If you have not yet made this switch, then please immediately contact your software supplier. The sooner you switch to APIs, the sooner you will be able to reap the full benefits of HCN Barge. Until that time, an EDI converter offers you a temporary solution.

Not yet a participant in HCN Barge? Request the service here. At the same time, you must also register as a participant with Nextlogic. Via HCN Barge, you will then be able to make full use of the integrated planning.

No; all parties first connect with HCN Barge in order to subsequently use the integrated planning of Nextlogic. The front runners that are now connected to the Nextlogic data platform will also be transferred to HCN Barge in time.

For MCA Barge, instructional videos, a quick-start guide and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the Portbase support page. To prepare you for the integrated planning, Nextlogic has developed a special e-learning course with a large number of different modules for barge operators. To access this, you will need a voucher which can be requested from Nextlogic.

*Hours prior to PTA (Planned time of arrival of Barge)

The Load/Discharge List has four statuses with a corresponding version of the icon.

Iconen	Explanation
	Open before cut-off
	Closed after cut-off moment
	Reopened in consultation with terminal
	Earlier submission (ECT only)
	Unloading/loading list not sent at Cut-off

Early submission of the Load/Discharge List only applies to the ECT Delta and Euromax terminals.

Green prenotifications are automatically sent to these terminals when the Load/Discharge List is closed (at ECT this is 8 hours before the start of the barge slot) or manually and prematurely at the cut-off.) This is done using the 'Send Load/Discharge List’ button, which you can find under the 'Visit’ tab.

By clicking the 'Send Load/Discharge List' button, the green prenotifications are forwarded to ECT Delta/Euromax.

NOTE: The Load/Discharge List must comply with the minimum call size set by ECT.

This can only be done by the barge operator, by clicking the "Finalize Load-Discharge list” button.

This can only be done by the data departments of the various terminals.

Please contact them directly.

Yes

Planned

No

Terminals
ECT Delta
Euromax
HPDII
APMII
RWG
RST Noord & Zuid

The introduction of the automatic cut-off, which creates a final load-discharge list, is necessary for Nextlogic’s integrated planning. Based on the data in the final load-discharge lists, Nextlogic can further optimise the integrated planning for Nextlogic participants.

To ensure a straightforward working method, the same principle has been applied to manual planning.

All the prenotifications submitted for a barge visit together make up the load-discharge list. The load-discharge list is automatically closed at the terminal a few hours before the barge arrives. This is the so-called cut-off time. After this, the load-discharge list status is final and no further changes are possible.

Different times may apply per terminal and for loading empty containers, loading full containers, unloading empty containers and unloading full containers. For barges with a mixed cargo, the earliest cut-off time determines when the entire load-discharge list is closed for the visit.

Cut-off time in uren

During a scheduled visit, a green dot with a white check mark is shown.

When an additional ‘padlock’ icon is shown, the load-discharge list has been finalised.

No, only those prenotifications that are in order (or ‘green’) will be included in the final load-discharge list. The result is a load-discharge list containing only 'green' prenotifications.

All prenotifications found not be in order (‘red’ prenotifications) are rejected in MCA Barge.

After the cut-off, the ‘red’ prenotifications are automatically rejected in MCA Barge. These remain visible to the barge operator under the handlings of the visit in question and are marked ‘rejected’.

Yes, that can happen. For example, if a customs inspection or embargo is announced after the cut-off time. The prenotification will remain on the final load-discharge list for the time being; the container will not be loaded or unloaded by the terminal.

If changes are required to a final load-discharge list (after the cut-off), this can only be done by contacting the terminal directly. The terminal operator can then reopen the load-discharge list in MCA Barge. After this, the barge operator makes the changes and must then again close the load-discharge list in MCA Barge itself. As soon as all changes have been made, the barge operator closes the load-discharge list by clicking on the "Finalize Load-Discharge list” button.

As a barge operator, we expect you to adjust the ETA in HCN Barge in accordance with the expected delay in these kinds of situations.

If you want to take advantage of any capacity that becomes available at ECT sooner as a barge operator, you must specify the earliest time that your barge can be at the terminal via the ETA in HCN Barge. ECT takes these specified ETAs into account when replanning.

Barge Transferium Maasvlakte (BTM) is a collaboration between Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam (ECT) and a consortium of inland terminals and barge operators.

As part of this collaboration, ECT makes a section of quay with a crane and crane team available to the consortium on set days and times at a fixed rate.

The barge operators themselves are responsible for the planning and in mutual consultation, the participating parties determine when and how often they want to moor alongside the quay.

The terminal with which you have arranged the fixed window will record this agreement in HCN Barge.

First of all, you must have a fixed window agreement with one or more terminals.

Furthermore, the terminal must have added the fixed window to the service HCN Barge.

Is this the case for both? Then you are able to select your fixed window in the ‘Fixed window’ field when creating a barge visit.

The speed with which status requests and prenotifications are answered depends on several factors. The sending and processing of status requests and prenotifications involve a series of actions by different parties. Things can sometimes go wrong at various points in that chain. The aim is to keep problems to a minimum.

Port Community System (PCS)

Most prenotifications and status requests from carriers/operators are processed via the Portbase platform and sent to the terminal within seconds.

Nevertheless, sometimes malfunctions do occur, or there may be maintenance to the services. In that case, Portbase will get to work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. At status.portbase.com you can see the status of the various Portbase services. On that page, you can also subscribe to notifications so that you are always kept up to date. It is reassuring to know that the Portbase (PCS) system has an uptime of 99.8%.

Terminal Operating Systems (TOS)

Most terminals use an EDI connection. After EDI messages are received from Portbase, they must be read out and processed in the terminal system, and finally, a response message needs to be returned to Portbase. Delays may occur in all these steps – especially when demands on processing capacity are at their highest, for example on Friday afternoons. At peak times like this, large volumes of EDI messages are sent and delays can occur.

API links are the future and may represent an improvement in this regard. The first terminals are now working with API links.

Terminals can also unexpectedly run into malfunctions or require maintenance of their systems. In such cases, terminals will work to solve the issue as quickly as possible and will inform their customers and users themselves.

Transport Management Systems (TMS)

Hauliers can make use of a system link between their planning system (TMS) and the Portbase (PCS) system; delays or malfunctions can also occur in these systems.

Ask your software vendor about the options for working with API.

As we have seen, delays can occur at different times and in different steps in the process. Please contact the Portbase Service Desk if you have reason to believe you are experiencing an unusually long delay during prenotification. You can do so by calling +31 (0)88 625 25 25 or by emailing our Customer Service.

Unfortunately it is no longer possible to add containers when the barge is under the crane / status in operation.

It is possible for the status of a visit to change to “in operation” well after the loading/discharging activities of that visit have begun or ended. The underlying signal for the status change in HCN Barge is the first gate-in/gate-out notification the terminal sends to Portbase for the barge visit in question. When the gate-in/gate-out confirmation is sent or processed at a later time, it gives a skewed impression of the actual operation's progress.

The terminal confirms each visit as “completed” once handling has been finished. The terminal operator must do this. If the terminal has not (yet) confirmed completion, the visit will continue to display the status “in operation”. For the time being, this does not present a problem. When we begin supporting integral planning by Nextlogic, however, this issue will become important.

MCA Barge sends a cancellation of the prenotification to the terminal. A status request is then sent to the terminal. It can be found as a separate status request in the web screen under the Handlings -> "Detached handlings" tab.

If you link the prenotification to another visit, MCA Barge will send a cancellation of the prenotification to the terminal. A new prenotification will then be sent to the terminal of the new visit. It will be available under "Handlings" of the new visit.

You will continue to receive updates on the handling status if the terminal supports them. Click here to visit the functionality overview.

The processing time varies depending on the terminal and the moment in time; it is partly dependent on the number of messages to be processed at any one time.

In addition, if you submit a modified prenotification or status request, it will not be forwarded to the terminal until the terminal has replied to the previous prenotification or status request. In short, by repeatedly submitting a status request/prenotification, you can create a queue for yourself.

History

By clicking on 'History', you can view the progress of the message exchange between the terminal and your organisation. That way, you will always be aware of the latest status of your status application or prenotification.

You can cancel the prenotification and make your changes in the same prenotification. You then resend the prenotification.

Please note: every prenotification is given a unique label within HCN by which Portbase recognises the transaction. You can change, cancel and resubmit this prenotification with a unique label at any time. As long as you continue to use the same original prenotification, you pay for only one transaction.

View the Functionality Matrix to see whether the terminal supports a modification message.