The Covid-19 pandemic has affected many areas of human activity, and the transportation sector was no exception. The habits of people, workers and companies have changed radically, and digital documents have been favored to cope with the fear of contact. These changes have also affected the use of Port Community System (PCS) in the Port of Bar.
According to the International Port Community Association (IPCSA, 2011), the PCS is defined as an electronic platform that connects multiple systems operated by a variety of organizations that make up a seaport community. It is a neutral and open electronic platform which enables intelligent and secure exchange of information between public and private stakeholders, and it optimizes, manages and automates port and logistics efficient processes through a single submission of data and connecting transport and logistics chains.
The PCS in Bar was developed in 2014 owing to several EU co-funded Interreg projects, which respectively allowed further upgrades compared to the version initially implemented. The PCS is currently used by 80 companies and institutions, and has over 200 users, mainly freight forwarders, who are experiencing the benefits of such system. The PCS has improved port operations and increased the competitiveness of the Port of Bar and will be soon connected to the future Maritime Single Window in Montenegro.
Through the project MultiAPPRO PLUS, Port of Bar will develop an application for mobile phones (Android and/or iPhone) and tablets linked to the PCS. The main result of the implementation of the application will be that the interested parties will be able to log in, send or verify online some digital documents outside the main offices of the Port of Bar. The mobile application will allow to take a look at online available data and documents, such as cargo handling, ship mooring, etc.
The use of mobile devices and the mobile application will have far-reaching benefits. Firstly, the use of mobile application will enable greater flexibility in operations and will avoid unnecessary physical contacts in the offices. Secondly, it will represent a futher step towards the complete elimination of paper documentation in the Port of Bar, one of the main goals towards today modernization of the ports. In this way, the app will effectively and successfuly address the Covid-19 situation. It will provide positive effects on port activities as operations will be carried out more smoothly and reliably using a specially designed app to support stakeholders’ requests. In conclusion, on account to the new PCS app, communication between the port and stakeholders will be facilitated and improved, and many physical contacts will be avoided.