Changes after office hours

One of the issues mentioned is the fact that agents without office presence at night sometimes have difficulties making changes in Portbase. For example, because the water clerk is on the way or because the captain sends a message via email that is only seen later. Dirkzwager has a connection with Portbase, which allows us to process changes directly and fully automatically for agents. In this way, unnecessary delays can be prevented.

ETA Changes

During the digital Q&A session, the Port Authority noted that currently, unnecessarily many ETA updates are being made, frustrating the planning. Agents indicate that Pronto regularly provides ETA updates that are perceived as unreliable. If an ETA update is made within 2.5 hours of the last order, which is 3 hours or further into the future, cancellation costs are calculated by the Pilotage.

One of the important tasks of Royal Dirkzwager is to provide accurate and reliable ETAs. These are monitored 24/7 by highly experienced and knowledgeable employees. Our ETAs are based on a combination of factors, of which AIS is only one. By using our service, as an agent, you can prevent any additional costs caused by incorrect or erroneous input in Portbase.

Communication with the vessel

The new procedure states that the agent is responsible for maintaining contact with the vessel. This poses problems because the ship is not always reachable by phone and/or only listens in on the various VHF channels. This issue was also raised during the VRC Bulk Committee meeting last November. Royal Dirkzwager has access to VHF channel 12, which can be used for this purpose. The agent indicates in their pre-arrival notification to the ship that they should also listen in on channel 12. Dirkzwager can call the ship if necessary.