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8<br />
improving accessibility<br />
on a wide front<br />
The Port of Amsterdam is working<br />
hard to improve accessibility. It<br />
is doing so not only by upgrading<br />
the infrastructure and encouraging<br />
transport links, but also by<br />
taking other initiatives that will<br />
ensure greater accessibility.<br />
In <strong>2006</strong>, work began on preparations<br />
for a single traffic control<br />
center to be completed in<br />
2008. The existing organizations<br />
– the Port Operations Center,<br />
the Canal Lock Center (both of<br />
them are in the seaport of<br />
IJmuiden) and the Captains<br />
Room (in Amsterdam) – will be<br />
merged into one traffic control<br />
center housed in the to-be-expanded<br />
building of the current<br />
Port Operations Center in<br />
IJmuiden. As a result, the shipping<br />
traffic flow in the whole<br />
Amsterdam Port Area will improve<br />
substantially – in partner-<br />
ship with the pilots. Much effort<br />
was also put into further enhancing<br />
cooperation between the<br />
traffic controllers, pilots, towing<br />
companies, shipping<br />
agents and terminals, with the<br />
primary aim of optimizing the<br />
use of the canal lock complex in<br />
IJmuiden.<br />
In <strong>2006</strong>, the Port of Amsterdam<br />
also worked hard on the introduction<br />
of Pontis – which will<br />
replace the outdated Caesar<br />
port management system in<br />
2007. This will allow the Port to<br />
manage shipping traffic in a<br />
safe, efficient and environmentally<br />
friendly manner. The new<br />
system will also help streamline<br />
the financial side of its operations.<br />
Pontis will be used by not<br />
only the Nautical Section of the<br />
Port of Amsterdam, but also by<br />
various external parties, inclu-<br />
ding the towing companies, the<br />
customs service and shipping<br />
agents.<br />
Safety measures not only promote<br />
safety, but also improve<br />
the shipping traffic flow and<br />
thus provide greater accessibility<br />
for the ports and the<br />
shipping routes. Early <strong>2006</strong>,<br />
the decision was taken to install<br />
radars along the entire length of<br />
the North Sea Canal. Radars<br />
can now only be found in the<br />
seaport of IJmuiden and near<br />
the Oranjesluizen locks in<br />
Amsterdam. This measure is necessary<br />
to guarantee the safety<br />
of the ever-increasing numbers<br />
of sea ships, inland-water way<br />
barges and pleasurecraft. The<br />
North Sea Canal Radar Project<br />
will be completed in 2008.
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