Port Call Management
A port call follows one vessel's visit to one port, from planning through departure. It holds the schedule, the current status, a timed log of what happened, and every request and job for the visit.
FOR BUYERS & PROVIDERS
Port calls are created for you when a request names a vessel and a port from the list, or when a provider creates a manual job with them. The buyer and the provider working on the job see the same record. Admin, Manager and Operations can update it. Other roles can follow it.
Key takeaways
One port call per vessel visit. Every request and job for that visit is linked to it.
Thirty-four statuses, grouped into four phases, say where the visit has reached.
The operations log records what happened and when, in port local time, including delays.
The operations log is the source of the Statement of Facts, the PDF record of the visit.
Completing a port call is final. Archiving only tidies it away and can be reversed.
Where port calls come from
Publish a request naming a vessel and a port from the list, and PortzApp creates a port call for the visit. ETA and ETD fill in the schedule when you provide them.
A request without a vessel does not create one, and neither does a request using a port you typed in yourself.
To add another request to the same visit, start it from the port call with Start new request. The vessel, port and dates are filled in, so it joins that port call. A request started elsewhere only joins an existing port call if the vessel, port, ETA and ETD all match exactly.
Phases and statuses
The current status says where the visit has reached. Update it as the visit progresses, from the port call itself or as you log events. You do not have to record every step, only the ones that matter to your operation. Each change is recorded with who made it and when.
The four phases
Thirty-four statuses, grouped by where the vessel is in its visit.
Phase
Planning
What it covers
Before the vessel is due. Port call created, berth pending, documents under review, agent nominated, services scoped, pre-arrival checklist, arrival window confirmed.
Phase
Arrival
What it covers
Getting the vessel in. ETA submitted and updated, pilot requested and confirmed, inward clearance, arrival at anchorage, berthed, free pratique granted.
Phase
Operations
What it covers
Work alongside. Cargo operations pending, started, paused, resumed and completed, crew change, stores delivery, husbandry in progress.
Phase
Departure
What it covers
Getting the vessel out. Departure documents, pilot out requested and confirmed, vessel departed berth and port, port call completed.
The operations log
The status says where the visit has reached. The operations log says exactly what happened, and when. Each entry is one of three kinds:
- Milestone: a single moment, such as arrival or all fast.
- Activity: something with a start and an end, such as cargo operations. It shows as ongoing until it has an end time.
- Delay: time lost, such as waiting for a berth. Delays are counted separately from working time.
Times are recorded in port local time. The log totals the events, working time, delays and anything still ongoing, and can be filtered to a single request or job. Edits are tracked, so the record shows what was corrected.
The Overview shows the key milestones from the log, Arrived, All fast, Commenced, Completed and Departed, with the latest events beside them.
Statement of Facts
The operations log is also what the Statement of Facts is built from: the PDF record of the visit that agents, owners and charterers rely on. Each port call keeps its SOFs under SOF documents.
Related feature
Statement of Facts
How an SOF is prepared from the operations log, reviewed, issued and shared with the other company.
Requests and jobs
Every request and job for the visit is listed on the port call, under Requests and Jobs, so a visit involving several providers stays in one place. Each shows its number, its status and when it was created. From any of them, you can open it or filter the operations log to it.
Only the company that created the port call can start another request from it. A provider can also record work for the visit as a manual job, which is listed here alongside the others.
Activity
Activity is the record of who changed what on the port call, and when. Each entry shows the previous and new value, so a corrected event time or an edited remark can always be traced. Filter it to event changes, port call details or SOFs.
This is not the same as the Timeline on a job, which records approvals and changes to the disbursement account.
Completing and archiving
When the vessel has sailed and the work is done, the port call is marked complete. Completion is final, and the visit moves to the Completed tab, where it stays for review.
Archiving moves a port call out of your active lists without deleting anything. An archived port call can be restored at any time, and it keeps its completion status. Both sit in the port call's menu, with the option to edit the schedule.
Common issues
No port call was created for my request
A port call needs both a vessel and a port chosen from the list. Requests without a vessel, or with a port typed in by name, do not create one.
I cannot update the port call
Your role can follow the port call but not change it. Admin, Manager and Operations can update it.
The times look wrong
Times are shown in port local time, not your own time zone.
I cannot find a port call I finished
Check the Completed and Archived tabs. The list opens on active visits.
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