Port St. Maarten Management along with software developer IT Partner, gave a presentation to Government Department Heads and the Council of Ministers (COM) regarding the Port Community System (PCS).
PCS is an extension of Port St. Maarten’s Terminal Operating System that would further enhance the port’s operational excellence platform linking for example cargo/container manifest to an incoming/outgoing vessel to warehouse/storage handling and receiver pick-up.
The PCS will allow all key parties such as agents to be connected to a secure cloud-based approach system which will enhance information sharing with the primary focus being on sustainable business development for the St. Maarten port community along with information data centric sharing with Customs, Coast Guard, Maritime Affairs, Immigration & Border Protection, Public Health and possibly other Government entities.
The information sessions with Department Heads were to share information about PCS and what it entails regarding data-sharing among stakeholders and third parties covering cargo and cruise operations at the country’s sea-port of entry.
COM was briefed about the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and what it would mean for the seaport with respect to the introduction of PCS which the port is aiming to launch in 2019 with the clear objective of having one data-sharing window for all key stakeholders.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Stuart Johnson said on Sunday, “The fourth industrial revolution is about empowering people. Development is not stagnant. The world is ever changing from a technological perspective, and our port realizes that it has to be at the forefront of these trends and developments.”
Minister Johnson said, “Hurricane Irma also impacted the neighbouring islands, and they are also importing cargo to rebuild their public and private infrastructure.” He said, “This provides us with the opportunity to widen our foothold as the transhipment hub for the region. Trans-shipment has been trending upward, and it is expected to continue.” He said, “Automation, mobile computing, data-sharing and artificial intelligence are today’s realities.”
IT Partner, an information technology firm in the Netherlands, are experts in automation systems for port and logistics industries. The company has been in operation since 1999 and has clients that include terminal operators, logistics companies and complete ports, offering tailor-made solutions that fit customer needs.
Port St. Maarten based on its business intelligence forecast for 2019, the cargo shipping sector will experience significant growth in full imports due to pending projects to be implemented for the rebuilding of country St. Maarten.
Port St. Maarten Management sees the transshipment sector as an opportunity growth perspective. The evolution of transshipment growth through port St. Maarten has been very positive over the years.
“Hurricane Irma also impacted the neighboring islands and they are also importing cargo to rebuild their public and private infrastructure. This provides us with the opportunity to widen our foothold as the transshipment hub for the region. Trans-shipment has been trending upward and it is expected to continue.
“Port St. Maarten will no doubt participate in the fourth industrial revolution with investing and supporting digitalization initiatives. The PCS is one initiative that will ensure the long-term sustainability of operations that would lead to further growth in overall operations and obtaining of key actionable intelligence to strengthen the port’s positioning,” Port St. Maarten Management said on Sunday.
Port St. Maarten currently uses the Global Logistics Service (GLS) cargo tracking software and plans to transition to PCS.
PCS will be a real-time platform making it easy to access vital information and quality data and can also provide economic data to be used for analysis and government policy decision-making.
The overall objective is to have a complete information technology system in place at the port that allows stakeholders to access real-time information about container movements as well as contents. This initiative is also in line with border security and compliance with international rules and regulations.
Port St. Maarten’s priority is security first, ensuring safe, secure use of Port Community Systems.
