PCS port IT system and related cybersecurity issues were discussed by representatives of the port industry at the "PCS Conference. Modern IT tools for transport, forwarding, and logistics".

Between January 31 and February 1, the conference was held on the Wawel ferry owned by Polferries. At first, the meeting was scheduled to take place during the voyage from Gdańsk to Świnoujście, where the unit was to undergo a long-planned class inspection (unrelated to the recent incident in Gdańsk), but poor weather forced the captain to cancel the trip. Thus, Wawel anchored in the Port of Gdansk and all discussions were conducted there.

– This is a continuation of the idea of a conference on the sea at sea. We managed to attract another group of interested parties from the forwarding and logistics industry, and we are delighted that we are able to host so many of them - said Andrzej Madejski, the President of the Management Board of Polska Żegluga Bałtycka. – Discussions at the backstage level of the conference on the Wawel ferry sparked a number of ideas. We are delighted that once again everything begins with Polferries – he added.

The PCS - Port Community System - was the primary reason why industry representatives met at Wawel. Digital systems of this type are used in many of the world's largest ports. Polski PCS is developing this solution for Polish ports. It has been tested in Gdansk, Gdynia, and Szczecin-Swinoujscie for several months. It is worthwhile to note, however, that PCS only offers a limited number of the planned features. The system will be constantly developed, supplemented, and adapted to the needs of stakeholders. The conference was intended to identify the most significant needs and directions for its development.

Marek Gróbarczyk, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, opened the conference and then handed the floor to Andrzej Zelek - the President of the Management Board of Polski PCS, who talked about the system itself. Zelek said that the system, whose primary task is to improve the exchange of information between all interested port operations, already processes about a million messages a month.

– The system is scalable, so we are not afraid of a larger data flow. This reflects the size of the business that takes place at the terminals. We have to combine many systems, many various digital solutions into one organism - said the president of Polski PCS.

This was an introduction to the first panel, which addressed this digital solution. Grzegorz Witkowski, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure, stated that at the beginning of the PCS, there was a need to increase the competitiveness of Polish ports.

– Poland began to lose out because Polish ports ceased to be competitive. Then we must step in and enforce certain solutions that will bring ports and port operators into the 21st century. When it comes to certain matters in ports, we are still in the 20th century - said Witkowski. He added that PCS is to help "move Poland from paper to digital so that Hamburg and Bremerhaven are no longer the largest Polish ports."

– Digitization and the elimination of paper from circulation result in a speeding up of certain processes. This acceleration has an impact on the efficiency of ports - said Lukasz Greinke, the President of the Port of Gdansk. – PCS was supposed to be a response to hundreds of documents and letters. It is our intention to eliminate this, and to establish a single tool and platform that will allow port stakeholders to share information - he said. He also added that in recent years, many employees dealing with the circulation of documents have retired from ports and other institutions related to them. PCS was supposed to fill this gap.

During the discussions, several leading themes quickly emerged and were repeated throughout the conference. One of them was the cost of introducing PCS. Kazimierz Koralewski, the Vice-President of the Port of Gdynia Authority, pointed out that port customers should know exactly what the fees are for.

It is always possible to quantify costs. To have our customers accept it, we must properly justify it - he explained.

– For now, everyone is afraid of how much it will cost, but the market will pay for any excellent tool that improves work. These systems do it. If before something took a few hours, and now it takes fractions of a second, it is an improvement and it translates into real money - argued Łukasz Greinke.

The second-panel discussion, which included representatives from container terminals, discussed e.g. the integration of the new system with the existing ones.

– It is imperative that we establish central systems that will create standards for all Polish ports. In my opinion, creating smaller PCSs for individual ports does not make sense - said Maciej Bąk, the Vice-President of the Port of Gdynia.

– The impression could have been created that before the launch of the PCS, Polish ports were based on paper trade. Meanwhile, each of the terminals has been investing in digitization for many years - said Wojciech Szymulewicz from BCT. – The PCS we are talking about is a vision. This is not yet the system the industry is based on. Our organization supports this vision, but at this point, we are primarily interested in a feature that enhances the process of releasing containers, and not all of them. With us it is about 80% - he pointed out.

– The functioning of PCS does not affect our relations with customers. PCS replaces the work that customs officers used to do. There are a number of aspects that require clarification or continuation of talks – said Jan Jarmakowski from GCT.

Monika Żaboklicka, strategy director at DB Port Szczecin, stated in turn that the introduction of PCS did not change much in the functioning of the terminal.

– PCS did not usher in a revolution because the local office processes had been streamlined to such an extent that it was easy to transfer everything to PCS. However, the system must provide something more than the argument "it will be faster" because some of the goods we handle do not need to be moved out of the port faster - she pointed out.

An especially significant moment of the discussion, however, was the formulation by Jan Jarmakowski, managing director of Gdynia Container Terminal (GCT), of the two most critical postulates regarding the development of PSC.

– We would like an advisory body to be appointed to provide opinions and advice to the shareholders of Polski PCS regarding the development of the system. We would also like all fees charged by the Polish PCS for the use of the tool to be reinvested in the development of the system - said Jarmakowski.

The answer to the first of these demands was the signing of a letter of intent by port stakeholders regarding the development of PCS.

– Our vision is that the system does not differentiate between terminals and ports. The system should be for everyone. Hence the idea of ​​declaring that the further functioning of the PCS will be consulted with the operators by appointing the PCS Stakeholder Council. The letter declares the establishment of the Council and the development of a tool that will serve everyone - explained Maciej Bąk. The letter of intent was signed by representatives of ports in Gdańsk, Gdynia, Szczecin-Świnoujście, as well as port terminals DCT, BCT, GCT, DB Port Szczecin, as well as the Polish Chamber of Forwarding and Logistics and Polski PCS.

Following the signing of the letter of intent, discussions were held on rail transportation utilizing a modern IT platform and cybersecurity in the TSL industry. The latter was preceded by a speech by a special guest, General Roman Polko, who shared his experiences and views on current events, primarily in Ukraine. However, there were also local threads.

– It's not only Polish ports that can be targeted by diversionary attacks, but the entire critical infrastructure and fiber optic infrastructure as well. I am not talking about fear, which manifests itself in panic and anxiety over what is going to happen. Ports should simply take care of their own security more than they have in the past. It is important to note that we are in a state of enhanced combat readiness. We had three Spanish divers recently which was a disgrace to the police who couldn't react properly. Perhaps it is good that such a negative signal has appeared because the security procedures and competencies of people responsible for this security need to be verified. We need to move towards a real blockade of access to various types of systems, and not towards bureaucracy, which looks beautiful in offices, but does not translate into real protection of infrastructure - said General Roman Polko.