A Port Community System (PCS) is the data platform of a port: everyone in the chain (agents, forwarders, terminals, customs, hauliers) enters information once and shares it, instead of phoning and re-keying. The catch for anyone shipping through more than one port: each port runs its own PCS, and increasingly its own secure container-release regime on top. Same container, different port, different system. Nexport Logistics is connected where its cargo moves, so you don't have to be.
The map
| Port / region | PCS | Release regime |
|---|---|---|
| Rotterdam / Amsterdam | Portbase | Secure Chain (mandatory since Feb 2025) |
| Antwerp-Bruges | My Port of Antwerp-Bruges (formerly the C-Point applications) | Certified Pick up (CPu) by NxtPort |
| Le Havre / Seine axis (HAROPA) | S)ONE by SOGET | within S)ONE |
| Marseille-Fos | Ci5 by MGI | within Ci5 |
| Schiphol (air) | Cargonaut | n/a (air) |
Netherlands: Portbase
Rotterdam and Amsterdam run on Portbase, with the Secure Chain as the identity-based release process that replaced PIN codes. The full story, including where SCR fits in as the Hapag-Lloyd exception, is on the Portbase page.
Belgium: Certified Pick up, and where SCR fits
Antwerp-Bruges solved the same PIN-code fraud problem with Certified Pick up (CPu), built by NxtPort (a subsidiary of the port authority) and mandatory for every party in the release chain. Containers leaving the port by truck, barge or rail are only released through CPu, on the identity of the operator. The port's community applications, long known as C-Point, now live under My Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
SCR (Secure Container Release, the T-Mining platform) is widely used in Antwerp: carriers such as MSC and CMA CGM hand their release rights to the first release party through it. The division of roles is the thing to understand: you can pass a release via SCR or directly in CPu, but the final pick-up entitlement and the audit trail always come out of Certified Pick up. SCR is a distribution tool; CPu is the port's official regime, just as the Secure Chain is in Rotterdam.
France: S)ONE and Ci5
France has two PCS worlds:
- S)ONE by SOGET covers the Seine axis (HAROPA: Le Havre, Rouen, Paris and the inland ports along the corridor). It is the fourth generation of the system that started in Le Havre, and it also runs in ports outside France.
- Ci5 ("Cargo Intelligent System") by MGI runs Marseille-Fos, live since October 2018 when it replaced the previous system AP+.
A shipment through Le Havre and one through Marseille therefore touch two entirely different platforms, each with its own customs and terminal links.
Why this matters for your cargo
Routing is a commercial decision; the systems come with it. A forwarder that quotes you Antwerp instead of Rotterdam must be plugged into CPu (and handle SCR releases) rather than the Secure Chain, and a Le Havre routing means S)ONE. Connection gaps show up as containers waiting on a quay. Nexport Logistics books the routing and works the release in the system that port requires; you follow the shipment in the Nexportal portal regardless of which PCS sits underneath. Routing options for your trade lane? Email info@nexportlogistics.nl.
Official sources: Portbase — Secure Chain · Port of Antwerp-Bruges — Certified Pick up · NxtPort — Certified Pick up · SOGET — S)ONE · MGI — Ci5. Related: Portbase · Cargonaut · Customs It Systems