Project

A. General Information

1. Title

Tanger Med – Rotterdam Digital Corridor

2. Status of the project
Pilot
3. Implementation period of the project/service:
From
2024
To
--
4. Website
https://www.portofrotterdam.com/en/port-future/digitisation
5. Geographical coverage
Bilateral
Participating countries: Morocco, Netherlands
6. Participating agencies/entities of the project/service:
a. Development stage
Lead agencies/entities
Port of Rotterdam Authority (Netherlands)
Tanger Med Port Authority (Morocco)
Other participating agencies/entities
Board of Innovation (BOI) – Program facilitator
edoxOnline (Digital document platform provider)
Rossum (AI document verification provider)
Driscolls (Shipper/exporter)
Puerto Transit (Freight forwarder)
Partida Logistics (Customs clearance agent – Spain)
CSI Fresh (Customs clearance agent)
b. Operational stage
Lead agencies/entities (op)
Port of Rotterdam Authority
Tanger Med Port Authority
Other participating agencies/entities (op)
Portbase (Port Community System provider for Rotterdam)
Tanger Med Port Community System
7. Main stakeholders/beneficiaries of the project
Traders (big enterprises)
Traders (SMEs)
Transport
Customs brokers
Customs
Freight forwarders, Exporters, Fresh produce importers
8. Business process category of the project
Commercial Transactions
Forwarding and cargo handling
Transport
Regulatory/official control

B. Lessons Learned

9. Summary description of the project/service
Brief Summary

Digital corridor between Rotterdam and Tanger Med ports enabling exchange of vessel timestamps and digitalization of document flows to reduce container delays and food waste for fresh produce shipments.

a. Objective(s)

To reduce documentation errors and delays in container flows between Rotterdam and Tanger Med ports; enable efficient port planning through exchange of vessel arrival and departure timestamps; reduce food waste for perishable goods by digitalizing document flows; validate scalable digital solutions for replication across other trade routes.

b. Business need for the project (background)

Traditional manual document handling in maritime trade causes significant errors, inefficiencies and delays. Each shipment requires coordination among up to 15 different parties, making document standardization challenging. Fresh produce from Tanger Med requiring refrigerated transport suffers unnecessary waste from documentation delays.

c. Business process covered*

Port-to-port data exchange for vessel timestamps (arrival and departure times); trade documentation digitalization including commercial and shipping documents; AI-powered document error detection; collaborative document management through single digital platform.

d. Overall architecture and functionalities*

Two-pilot architecture: (1) edoxOnline platform provides single source of truth for document management enabling real-time collaboration between shippers, freight forwarders and customs clearance agents with data entry and reuse replacing document creation; (2) Rossum AI technology automatically identifies errors across trade documentation through email integration. Port-to-port component exchanges six timestamps between ports via APIs built on global standards through IMO and ITPCO collaboration.

e. Relevant document/figure
--
10. Documents and data exchanged via the project

• Vessel arrival and departure timestamps
• Commercial and shipping documents
• Trade documentation (various formats varying by country)
• Document instructions and draft generations

11. Data models/databases, proprietary solutions, hybrid approaches

Hybrid approach combining edoxOnline web-based document platform and Rossum AI-powered document processing. Global standards from IMO and International Taskforce Port Call Optimization (ITPCO) for data points harmonization.

12. Main challenges faced during the project

• Complexity and fragmentation of the maritime industry creating adoption gap for ecosystem players
• Documents varying from country to country
• Traditional reliance on manual and repetitive document handling processes
• Need for coordination among up to 15 different parties per shipment
• Building trust to enable data sharing between parties

13. Lessons learned from the project

• Open innovation approach between port authorities and market players enables testing and validation of digital solutions in real-world conditions
• Collaboration with over 40 market players helped identify key challenges and validate solutions
• Shift from document creation to data entry and reuse results in error-free documentation upon arrival
• Pilots completed in shortest timeframe of 2 months demonstrate rapid deployment is possible
• Solutions can be quickly scaled to other trade routes

14. Main benefit(s) of the project
Transaction Cost savings* -- rate: Avoided up to €300,000 in food freight value losses due to documentation blockages%
Transaction Time savings
Simplified process
14A. Elaborations/detailed description on benefits gained
--
15. Technical/financial/capacity building/other assistance

Board of Innovation (BOI) provided external expertise to design and manage open innovation program, including stakeholder analysis, challenge framing, pilot design with business cases, and market testing coordination.

16. Future plan for expansion of the project

• Scaling successful pilots to broader applications within maritime ecosystem
• Sharing learnings and best practices across other trade lanes
• Establishing new open innovation programs to address additional challenges
• Port-to-port data exchange starting with Tanger Med and Gothenburg to expand beyond Rotterdam-Singapore corridor

17. Other information or relevant references on the project

• Both ports are members of chainPORT network (multilateral partnership of world's leading ports for knowledge sharing and digitalisation)
• Tanger Med joined chainPORT in November 2021
• Project aligns with broader Rotterdam-Singapore Green & Digital Shipping Corridor initiative launched in 2022
• Chawki Benouarrek serves as Chief Digital Officer of Tanger Med Group
• Koen Vogel (Innovation Lead) and Floortje Mostert (Business Manager) lead the project at Port of Rotterdam

18. Relevant document regarding the project
--

C. Relevant Standards

19. Name(s) of any international, national legal instrument underpinning the project
--
20. Electronic message standard
20A. Electronic message standard supporting the project
XML:
- Other XML format: API-based data exchange
20B. Type of standard for electronic message applied for the project
Industry-specific standard
Technical recommendations from international body(ies)
21. Technical communication standard
21A. Technical communication standard supporting the project
HTTP, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)
21B. Type of technical communication standard applied for the project
International standard
22. Security-related standards*
22A. Security-related standard supporting the project
--
22B. Type of security-related standard applied for the project
--
23. Other Technical Information
23A. Interface developed for data exchange with an internal system
• APIs built to share vessel timestamp data between Rotterdam and Tanger Med ports
• Integration with email systems for Rossum AI document error detection
• Connection to Port Community Systems (Portbase for Rotterdam, TMPCS for Tanger Med)
23B. Other technical implementation information
• Global standards developed via IMO and International Taskforce Port Call Optimization (ITPCO) collaboration
• Minimum global dataset including arrival and departure times as foundation for Connected Ports
• Standardised, interoperable technology required for uniform data sharing