Overview
Many problems arise in the transport sector from the fact that the lack of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is preventing intermodal transport, including short sea shipping, from being a competitive alternative to other modes of transport. In particular, enhancing interconnectivity and interoperability in and between ports is a necessary step to support European short sea shipping.
The main objective of BOPCom was to raise the efficiency of sea transport in Europe by developing a new telematics concept for the port and transport sector, including support for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), offering low-cost communications solutions.
Funding
Results
BOPCom has developed tools to integrate the EDI approach and Internet technologies into one concept. The tools form the BOPCom Interconnectivity Manager. Local communication nodes including a communication database with a generic structure can be installed in any company or authority or, alternatively, offered by a service provider.
The tools developed make it possible to link existing application systems in the transport area and to include users without appropriate application systems (in particular small and medium-sized ports and companies) in EDI using Internet technology.
Realisations of the concept have been implemented and successfully tested in 17 ports in 9 European countries, in the Baltic Region, and in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Arc Regions. The BOPCom communication tools have proved to be suitable to serve a wide variety of applications including booking and transhipment, dangerous cargo management and berth allocation.
Policy implications
The usefulness of the BOPCom concept has been demonstrated by its use in other projects, in the research and development area as well as in the commercial environment, such as the system for submitting dangerous cargo declarations in Bremen. The users have declared that they want to keep on using the systems, and the developers involved are considering further enhancements to the Interconnectivity Manager, and in particular new applications and technologies such as CORBA and XML.
However it appears that the functions, data, procedures and responsibilities in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Arc ports differ from those of the Baltic region. While the communications tools are general, the applications have to be customised to the needs of specific clients.
The creation of a distribution network is essential to support these tools in an efficient commercial way outside the home regions of the developers, i.e. Finland and Germany. Future users will require local service suppliers who can assist them in the installation, configuration and adaptation, offering support and hot-line services in their native languages.