Continued investment in technology has allowed Hamburg port in Germany to double its container volume to three million teu (20-ft equivalent units) in the past eight years, a port official says.
Peter Dietrich, president of Hamburg port operators, said the five major operators of container terminals at Hamburg had jointly created the 'paperless port project' at the end of 1995 to meet the challenge of future competition.
The five operators are Buss, Eurokai, Hamburger Hafen-U.Lagerhaus (HHLA), HUG and Unikai.
Mr Dietrich, who is also executive chairman of HHLA - the largest terminal operator at the port - said it was the common objective of the terminals to introduce a standardised, paperless, container dispatch system throughout Hamburg's container terminals.
Electronic data exchange (EDI) is replacing a number of paper documents today.
The port's plan is to introduce the paperless port within the framework of a comprehensive pilot project this year in co-operation with the port's clients.
When the project is successfully concluded, the paperless port will be extended to all customers, including shipping companies, agents, forwarders, shippers and railways as well as to other ports, authorities and institutions.