Port of Antwerp first to link with GTN portal

Port of Antwerp first to link with GTN portal    Seagha, the common IT network of the port of Antwerp, has become the first port community system to adopt the GTN shipping multicarrier portal operated by GT Nexus.
   GT Nexus said Seagha has joined the GTN portal to provide integrated electronic shipment transaction services for Belgian shippers, agents and freight forwarders.
   The Seagha port community system is used by forwarders, shipping agents, terminal operators, cargo owners (direct shippers) shipping companies and logistics service providers. GT Nexus said a typical transaction over the integrated Seagha/GTN network would flow as follows:
   * The shipper or forwarder creates a shipping instruction or a bill of lading in the Seagha software.
   * The Seagha clearing network receives the file, “maps” the data against the message guidelines for the GTN portal, and transmits the file into the portal.
   * GTN accepts the file, processes it, and delivers it directly into the back-office operating system of the shipping line in the format required by that carrier’s legacy system.
   * The shipping line accepts the file, performs several additional functions, and returns confirmation, again over GTN, to the customer.
   * The customer accepts the bill of lading and prepares the shipment for tender.
   GT Nexus described its integration with Seagha as “a portal-within-a-portal.”
   Dirk Ceulemans, Seagha’s sales and marketing manager, said GTN will provide Seagha with a point of entry and standard message processing across many carriers. “This creates a uniform way to transmit bookings, shipping instructions and even to perform track and trace with shipping lines,” he said.