ONE works with the digital Port Call Optimisation platform Pronto

Container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) was established in 2018 from the merger between the former Japanese shipping companies K-Line, NYK Line and MOL.

The bright pink ONE vessels are now also a familiar feature in the Port of Rotterdam. To improve the efficiency of port calls in Rotterdam, ONE has been working with the digital Port Call Optimisation platform Pronto for several weeks.

ONE is currently one of the six largest carriers in the world. Vessel Planning for Europe is carried out in London. In Rotterdam, the team of Robin de Puij, Head of Operations, takes care of local monitoring of ONE vessels in the Port of Rotterdam and the contact with the terminals. The shipping company has some 350 calls per year in Rotterdam, which means that around ONE vessel per day arrives in the Port of Rotterdam.

De Puij stated as reason for ONE’s choice for Pronto:

‘We were searching for a platform that would enable us to better monitor, analyse and optimise the approach to and handling of our vessels in the Port of Rotterdam. Multiple parties offer solutions for this, but Pronto is currently the best and most well-developed option. It contains good dashboards and warning and analysis tools. The whole port benefits from this platform if all parties involved in a port call enter the information into the platform. This offers fantastic opportunities to reduce costs and achieve environmental advantages.’

Vessels that need to wait and are moored cost a lot of money. That’s why it is important for ONE that vessels arrive in the Port of Rotterdam just-in-time. De Puij:

‘Sometimes you sail too quickly, so you reach the next port too early and need to anchor. This results in waiting times as well as in unnecessarily high fuel consumption. That’s why we want to know in advance how much time we have until the next port. Via Pronto, we receive the information we need to reach the Port of Rotterdam just-in-time.’

ONE can also use Pronto to monitor, measure and analyse operations in the port. De Puij said:

‘We want to be able to stick to our sailing schedules. All activities related to a port call need to be implemented in time in the ports and according to planning. As well as the anchor time, we also aim to reduce the time between the end of operations at the terminal and the departure of the vessel. To achieve this, we’d like to have earlier insight into the arrival and departure times of bunker vessels, waste collectors and nautical service providers.

Of course, the loading and unloading of containers also needs to run smoothly. It is also good to see that more and more Rotterdam terminals supply information via Pronto regarding their operation times. This is essential for us to be able to leave the port quickly and report to the next port in time that we are on our way. The terminals also benefit from this. The faster and more accurately vessels can be handled and exchanged, the higher their productivity.’

Not only the Rotterdam ONE team but also the London team’s initial experiences with Pronto are positive. ‘Rotterdam’ and ‘London’ are still fine-tuning how they work with Pronto via a weekly call. The first improvements regarding waiting time reduction are already visible, according to De Puij:

‘We’ve all worked really hard on this. And we receive a lot of support from Pronto’s developers. The platform offers excellent opportunities to analyse port calls afterwards. What was the objective and how did the port call actually proceed? We can use this information to make improvements, in which we not only look at other parties, but also take a good look at ourselves. As we are sailing in alliance, it would also be great to use Pronto to provide insight into our partners’ vessels. We need to give each other permission for this.’

De Puij stated:

‘A platform such as Pronto is really conducive to how the Port of Rotterdam functions. Improved forecasting and higher speeds make a huge contribution to the Rotterdam port community. An important condition is that all involved players share information. It would be even better if the surrounding ports also participated.’ The head office of ONE in Singapore is also following the work with Pronto with interest. ‘Our head office has a strong focus on innovation and Pronto fits well with this. Of course the platform developers will need to continue to consider the platform’s ongoing development.’