HPA, DAKOSY and Customs Expand the Slot Booking Procedure

For years, DAKOSY Datenkommunikationssystem AG and the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) have been working closely together on many levels. Based on the Slot Booking Procedure (SBV) system for truckers at the container terminals, which DAKOSY developed on behalf of HHLA and Eurogate, a cooperation agreement has now been signed with the Main Customs Office in Hamburg to coordinate appointments at the container inspection facility in the Port of Hamburg using the existing SBV system.

(Hamburg) The size of container ships being processed in the Port of Hamburg is steadily increasing. As a result, there are more truck arrivals in the days surrounding the ship’s arrival. With the help of the SBV, which has been successfully used since 2018 at the container terminals of HHLA and Eurogate, the South-West Terminal, at several empty container depots, and at the veterinary office, the system has been available since mid-August 2021 in a trial operation with selected participants for the Customs Office’s container inspection facility (CPA) in Hamburg. Depending on the results of the trial operation, the start of regular operations is scheduled for mid-October 2021.

For all container transports that require inspection at the CPA, time slots, known as slots, must be booked. Containers arriving at the CPA at Finkenwerder Straße 4 without or with an invalid slot booking will not be processed by the Customs Office in Hamburg.

Pre-registration via a Data Interface

The basis for the SBV is the pre-registration of transport data via a data interface. This pre-registration is mandatory and includes, among other things, information about the planned transport time. If sufficient capacity is available at the CPA at the desired time, the slot for the truck arrival can be booked. This way, truck transport and CPA capacity are coordinated with each other. This aims to avoid traffic jams on the roads in the port and long waiting times for the inspection of containers.

The goal of the cooperation is to expand the system to optimally support internal logistics and to optimize the operational processes at the CPA of the Customs Office in Hamburg, as well as to offer uniform access portals to the authorities regarding the realization of the “Border One Stop Shop (BOSS)” for port users. Additionally, bottlenecks in the Port of Hamburg should be avoided, and the road infrastructure should be relieved overall.

Photo: © Customs