What Does “Port of Call” Means?

What is Port Of Call?

Port of call option means an intermediate intercept for a ship on its scheduled travel for cargo operation or taking on supplies or fuel .
As Per the ship Monitoring, Reporting and Verification ( MRV ) regulation a “ port of call ” can be defined as the port of a nation where cargo or a passenger ( cruise ) embark halts to discharge or load the cargo or to embark or disembark passengers .
While the term ports are broadened and generalised to include facilities and amenities feasible to people and cargo, the meaning of port of call has an wholly different interpretation .
Ports of name are in fact a depart of the sub-divisions to the generalization made to the term ports and are used for all types of vessels.

Port of call is a technical term which is used in all official ship documents. For the cruise ship, port of margin call is the premier barricade from where they take on passengers for their cruise holidays .
technically, cruise ports are tagged under the sub-division of sea-harbours, which besides includes cargo harbours .
For cargo ships, a port of call is a port attended within a voyage to load or unload the cargo, or for bunkering or repairs carried out on the ship etc .
A embark to ship transfer ( Cargo STS or Fuel bunker transfer etc. ) which is carried within the port of call will be treated similarly to the operation carried at mooring .
Related Read:  7 Important Points For condom Lightering Operations On Ships
Port of call can include both inland harbor and marine seaports that cater to vessels transiting internationally. far sub-dividing them, there can even be pisces harbours where fishes are lugged and disseminated, cargo harbours where cargo is dispersed and a dry harbor where vessels ’ care and refurbish is carried out .
A marine port, tagged as a port of call, refers to a port where a ship halts so that passengers can embark and disembark appropriately or in case of cargo ships, load or unload goods .
When it comes to cruise ships, ports of call are already pre-assigned in a cruise vessel ’ s potential travel guidebook and as such the vessel is required to visit these ports within the specify prison term frame .
Though it ’ s the lapp with cargo ships, the port of call might change as per the requirements. For a cruise passenger, when the ship will visit a different port of predict as per the travel plan of the ocean trip, the passenger might need to pay a port access charge based on local taxes and fees .
That tip is normally charged to the cruise company ; however, the party typically does not include these larboard fees into the cruise fares and they, in turn, charge it back to the passenger .
When a vessel makes the initial customs entry into a country, the first gear port which it will attend will be considered as the “ First Port of Call ” .
Related Read: Top 10 Largest Cruise Ships in 2019

Voyage and Port of Call

The Terms “ Voyage ” and “ Port of Call ” are interrelated as they complement each other to complete the meaning of their respective terminology .
A ship or vessel ocean trip can be from one port to another, including the reappearance tripper depending on the circumstances. A single travel may contain multiple “ port of calls ” .
For some ship such as engaged in naval duty, going from 1st port of visit to the survive port of call and then come back to the first base larboard of call again is normally considered as one ocean trip .
however, it may be different for cargo and passenger ship, and one ocean trip can be from Port field-grade officer call “ A ” to the port of Call “ D ”, in between covering Port “ B & C ” .
Voyage retainer entirely depends on the nature of the cargo, trade path, the policies of the shipping company etc .

When a transport is undergoing an STS operation within the last interface of call, it is considered to be the end point of that detail incoming ocean trip .
similarly, once the completion of an STS operation within the last port of predict, after the departure, it is considered to be the start orient of the following voyage .
The data collected at each port of call and during each voyage is extensively used by transport officers and ship managers for monitoring different parameters such as carbon dioxide emission, the fuel consumption of the ship, full distance travelled, clock time spent at sea etc.

Related Read:  What is Noon Report On Ships and How Is It Prepared ?

Blank Sailing

When a embark operator cancels a port of predict, and the ship has to divert from the scheduled route not attending the assigned port or a series of ports due to versatile rationality. This is called “ Blank Sailing ” .
If there are any cargoes to be loaded from that cancelled port, the company will be assigned another vessel to attend to that cargo .
If the ship was to discharge any cargo in that port, the caller might decide to unload it in the future port and arrange the transit from any early vessel depending upon the freight necessity of the cargo .

There can be several reasons for blank sailing, such as :

• Reduction in the capacity of a particular route may call to blank sailing for stabilising freight rates
• A ship is sold to another operator or went to off-hire
• The ship involved in accident or damage and needed urgent repair in a particular or nearest available port
• Union or other strikes in the port
• Vessel delayed due to bad weather, machinery trouble etc. leading to cancel of the specific port of call
• Non-availability of a berth in the port due to closure, repair, traffic etc.

Related Read: Understanding the Principles of Passage Planning

Port of Call or Port Call Optimisation

Port of Call or Port call Optimisation is the process of reducing the ship ’ s populate time and improving the use of port facilities to the fullest .
By doing this, the vessel will be able to have a safe environmental impact and enhanced safety and security management for the port, terminals, ship coach and service providers .
Under the port bid optimization, different authoritative information is exchanged between port and shipmaster in real-time, using satellite, internet connectivity, and electronic communication .
here, the port is considered as a aggregate organization consisting of coastguards, customs authorities, port authorities, etc. and they communicate with each early and the ship to maintain a data organization for effective approaching ship-port operation .
Related Read:  How efficient Cargo Handling can be Helpful for the Marine Environment ?
different information is made available under Port Management Information Systems ( PMIS ) which is an built-in separate of port optimization. E.g. of some critical information to be exchanged are –
• Name of the port
• Name of the terminal
• Name of the berth
• Availability of pilot at the pilot place
• New regulations introduced as per the local and external law
• Bollard capacity
• Tug necessity and handiness
• Distance between bollard
• Material used for fendering
• Maximum speed in the distribution channel or port
• Maximum allowable conscription
• Weather – Presence of Ice, fog, swell, surge etc .
By having this data exchange interface available for shipmaster and ship managers, it will provide the follow befits :
• Lower operating price
• Lower cargo handling cost
• Safe and uninfected environment
• High standard of base hit at the port
• Optimised port last out
• Reliable and optimised ship- port operation
Related Read:  6 Benefits of Information Exchange in the Maritime Industry
Along with the board and disembark of voyagers, at a transportation port, the requirements to sustain the voyagers and the gang is besides loaded onto the vessels .
This far adds to the indispensability of these ports of call. apart from these elaborations about a port of call, the interpretation of the terminus besides includes a person ’ randomness intended pit-stop while undertaking a retentive recreational trip .
Ports form an indispensable component of the maritime domain. Without their presence, the hale view of nautical operations becomes excess .
Over the years, the development of technology has brought about a lot of improvements in the port sector, thereby adding to its import and credibility in its everyday state-of-affairs.

You might also like to read:
Disclaimer:  The authors ’ views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Marine Insight. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The generator and Marine Insight do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute alone the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader .
The article or images cannot be reproduced, copied, shared or used in any form without the permission of the author and Marine Insight.