InCom WG Report

PIANC n° 125/I - 2019

GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR RIVER INFORMATION SERVICES
The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure
 PIANC
The World Association for
Waterborne Transport Infrastructure

PIANC REPORT N° 125/I

INLAND NAVIGATION COMMISSION

GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FOR RIVER INFORMATION SERVICES
2019
PIANC has Technical Commissions concerned with inland waterways and ports (InCom),
coastal and ocean waterways (including ports and harbours) (MarCom), environmental
aspects (EnviCom) and sport and pleasure navigation (RecCom).

This report has been produced by an international Working Group convened by the In-
land Navigation Commission (InCom). Members of the Working Group represent several
countries and are acknowledged experts in their profession.

The objective of this report is to provide information and recommendations on good

practice. Conformity is not obligatory and engineering judgement should be used in its
application, especially in special circumstances. This report should be seen as an expert
guidance and state-of-the-art on this particular subject. PIANC disclaims all responsibil-
ity in the event that this report should be presented as an official standard.

PIANC Secrétariat Général

Boulevard du Roi Albert II 20, B 3
B-1000 Bruxelles
Belgique

http://www.pianc.org

VAT BE 408-287-945

ISBN 978-2-87223-265-9
© All rights reserved
PIANC Permanent Working Group 125

The RIS Guidelines 2019 have been produced in meetings of Working Group 125 between 2016 and 2019 in
Brussels, Barcelona, Budapest, Pittsburgh, Szczecin, Rotterdam, and the final meeting in Brussels. The
contributors to the PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019 are: Mr Piotr Durajczyk (Poland), Mr Jan Bukovsky (Czech
Republic), Mr Dierik Vermeir, Mr Piet Creemers (both from Belgium), Mr Alaric Blakeway (France), Mrs Birgitta
Schäfer (Germany), Mr Robert Rafael, Mr Mario Sattler, Mr Jürgen Trögl (all Austria), Mr Csaba Kovacs
(Hungary), Mr Giang Hoáng Hông (Vietnam), Mr Pedro Vila (Spain), Mr Peter Stuurman, Mr Jeffrey van Gils
(both the Netherlands), Mr Evgeny Brodsky (Russia), Mr Richard Lockwood, Mr Brian Tetreault (both USA), and
Mr Cas Willems (the Netherlands and Chairman).
The PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019 – Edition 4 have been adopted by the PIANC Inland Navigation
Committee in January 2019.

CONTENT
1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Historical Development of River Information Services. ............................................................................ 2
1.2 The Evolution of the PIANC RIS Guidelines............................................................................................. 2
1.3 The PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019 ............................................................................................................. 3
1.4 Reading Guide for this Document. ........................................................................................................... 4
2 RIVER INFORMATION SERVICES, OBJECTIVES, STAKEHOLDERS AND INFORMATION NEEDS ..... 5
2.1 River Information Services and its Objectives .......................................................................................... 5
2.2 RIS Stakeholders ...................................................................................................................................... 6
2.3 RIS Information Needs ............................................................................................................................. 6
3 RIS OPERATIONAL SERVICES AND FUNCTIONS; ................................................................................... 8
3.1 Functional Decomposition of the RIS Concept ......................................................................................... 8
3.2 RIS Operational Services ......................................................................................................................... 8
3.3 RIS Functions ......................................................................................................................................... 10
4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RIS OPERATIONAL SERVICES .................. 14
4.1 General ................................................................................................................................................... 14
4.2 Legal Considerations .............................................................................................................................. 14
4.3 Training Considerations .......................................................................................................................... 14
4.4 Technical Considerations ....................................................................................................................... 15
4.5 Fairway Information Services ................................................................................................................. 15
4.6 Traffic Information Services .................................................................................................................... 15
4.7 Traffic Management Information ............................................................................................................. 16
4.8 Information to Support Calamity Abatement........................................................................................... 17
4.9 Information for Transport Logistics ......................................................................................................... 17
4.10 Information for Law Compliance ............................................................................................................. 17
4.11 Information for Statistics ......................................................................................................................... 18
4.12 Information for Waterway Charges and Harbour Dues .......................................................................... 18
4.13 RIS enabled Corridor Management ........................................................................................................ 18
4.14 Operational Services Architecture .......................................................................................................... 19
5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RIS TECHNICAL SERVICES ....................... 20
5.1 General ................................................................................................................................................... 20
5.2 Technical Services to Support the Provision of Static Fairway and Infrastructure Information.............. 21
5.3 Technical Services to Support the Provision of Dynamic Fairway and Infrastructure Information......... 22
5.4 Technical Services to Support the Provision of Vessel Information.. ..................................................... 22
5.5 Technical Services to Support the Provision of Voyage and Cargo Information. .................................. 23
5.6 Reference Data Supporting RIS Operational and Technical Services ................................................... 24
6 RECOMENDATIONS ON INTEGRATION OF e-NAVIGATION IN THE RIS DOMAIN .............................. 25
6.1 General Policy Recommendations on the Mid-Term Development of e-Navigation in Relation to RIS . 25
6.2 Specific Recommendations on the Use of e-Navigation in a RIS Domain. ............................................ 26
7 CONSIDERATIONS ON MID-TERM RIS-RELATED DEVELOPMENTS ................................................... 27
7.1 Evaluation of the RIS Directive ............................................................................................................... 27
7.2 The Digital Inland Waterway Area (DINA) .............................................................................................. 27
7.3 Smart Shipping ....................................................................................................................................... 29
7.4 Cybersecurity .......................................................................................................................................... 29
 7.5 The RIS COMEX Project ........................................................................................................................ 30
8 CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE STRUCTURED APPROACH OF THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF RIS ............................................................................................................................... 31
8.1 General ................................................................................................................................................... 31
8.2 Mission Statement .................................................................................................................................. 31
8.3 Steps in a Structured Approach for the Implementation of RIS.............................................................. 32
8.4 Consideration on Quality of River Information Services ......................................................................... 33

ANNEX 1: Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................... 36

ANNEX 2: Standards and Information on Technical Services for the Provision of Static Fairway and
Infrastructure Information ................................................................................................................................... 37
ANNEX 3: Standards on Technical Services for the Provision of Dynamic Fairway and Infrastructure
Information .......................................................................................................................................................... 39
ANNEX 4: Standards and Information on Technical Services for the Provision of Vessel Information ............ 40
ANNEX 5: Standards and Information on Technical Services for the Provision of Voyage and Cargo
Information .......................................................................................................................................................... 42
ANNEX 6: Information on Reference Data ........................................................................................................ 43

1
1 INTRODUCTION
Historical Development of River Information Services

River Information Services is the concept for information services in inland navigation to support traffic and
transport management in inland navigation, including interfaces to other transport modes.

The potential of RIS to improve the position of inland navigation within the transport chain has also been
recognised by international organisations, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE), the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR), the Danube Commission and
PIANC, the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC). PIANC established a Working
Group in 2002 that developed the ‘Guidelines for River Information Services’. The Guidelines are still an
important pillar in the implementation of River Information Services. In 2004, the first revision of these guidelines
was drafted and published, another update followed in 2011.

In 2003, the worldwide Inland ENC Harmonisation Group (IEHG) was formed by North America and Europe to
work with the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) on the development of a worldwide standard for
Inland ENC. The harmonisation group included members from North and South America, Asia and Europe.

With the support of several EU Member States, the European Commission took the initiative of issuing a directive
on RIS, which came into force in 2005. The PIANC guidelines, revision 2004, are one of the basic regulations 1
of this Directive2.

The RIS Directive put requirements to the EU Member States to implement several basic services and
standardised key technologies in their parts of the waterway network. In the overall European context, the
development and formalisation of RIS were seen as the example for other transport modes to move towards a
successful implementation of traffic and transport information services. In the domain of inland navigation, it was
also recognised as an important step in cross border information exchange.

In the context of PIANC, there has always been a good cooperation between Europe and the United States on
the development of RIS towards a worldwide concept. Since the introduction of RIS in Europe, their ongoing
development and implementation are influencing inland navigation on a worldwide scale. Worldwide a significant
number of RIS services and systems, dealing with vessel traffic and/or transport management, have been
developed, implemented and put into operation.

The Evolution of the PIANC RIS Guidelines

Since the first initiatives of the European Commission on River Information Services, the overarching concept
of facilitating information exchange to support traffic and transport management in inland navigation has found
its way throughout the world. River Information Services are in an implementation stage in North and South
America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

The PIANC RIS Guidelines are the basis for the RIS Guidelines as formally accepted by the CCNR and the
European Commission. The RIS Guidelines edition 2 are published by the European Commission as regulation
no 2007/414/EC directly connected to the EU RIS-Directive 2005/44/EC. The PIANC Guidelines also became a
basis for UNECE Resolution No. 57 on Guidelines and Recommendations for River Information Services
(TRANS/SC.3/165). CCNR has published the RIS Guidelines version 3 based on CCNR Protocol 2003-I-22.

Since the last technical brief of PIANC on RIS, the development of RIS has been considerable, in particular the
implementation.

The first two editions of the RIS guidelines were published during and after the first results were made available
in the research and development phase of River Information Services. The third edition of the RIS guidelines,
published in 2011 was based on the experiences gained and lessons learnt in RIS implementation efforts since
2004.

1
Commission Regulation (EC) No 414/2007 of 13 March 2007.
2
Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on harmonised River Information Services
(RIS) on inland waterways in the Community.

2
An update of the PIANC RIS Guidelines is seen as necessary for the following reasons:

 RIS is under implementation throughout the world and requires RIS guidelines that bring added value to
authorities and organisations planning to implement RIS in their domain. A conversion of the European-
oriented RIS guidelines into RIS guidelines that are optimal for use on a worldwide scale is needed.
 Since 2010, studies have been conducted in RIS enabled Corridor Management. The concept of Corridor
Management can be recognised as the next step in the deployment of RIS supporting inland navigation as
an important transport mode in the international multimodal logistic chain.
 Developments in the maritime world with respect to e-Navigation will influence River Information Services.
The adaptation of the RIS guidelines towards multimodal use of information services worldwide is of utmost
importance for all modes of transport.

PIANC Permanent Working Group 125 gathered information on recent RIS development and implementation
experiences and based this revision of the guidelines on that information and experience.

The PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019

The PIANC RIS Guidelines describe the principles and general requirements for River Information Services and
provide recommendations and considerations for planning and implementing RIS and related systems. It has
become more and more clear that operation of River Information Services requires international cooperation
from the initial planning phase of RIS services and systems. Only by engaging in coordination as early as
possible can harmonised and effective information services on an international network or corridor level be
guaranteed. Internationally applicable guidelines on planning and implementation of River Information Services
are needed to guarantee the harmonised operation and use of these services and systems.
Developments in RIS are tending toward information services on a transport corridor level or waterway network
level that supports inland navigation as an important transport mode in the international logistic chain. It is
foreseen that RIS will support more logistic services in the multimodal transport domain; this development is
reflected in the RIS guidelines 2019 as one of the upcoming developments.
The RIS Guidelines are equally applicable to traffic and transport on inland waterways by maritime and inland
cargo vessels, passenger vessels, working vessels and pleasure craft. Multimodality and multimodal information
services are becoming more and more a requirement in the RIS domain. For this reason, the PIANC RIS
Guidelines 2019 have taken the first steps to find as much synergy as possible with developments in the maritime
world, in particular e-Navigation.
An important aspect of the implementation of RIS is that national and local authorities have the responsibility for
issuing regulations on how to implement and use the systems. Issues of relevance in this area are rules and
regulations regarding the protection and confidentiality of personal and commercial sensitive information3 and
creating awareness and taking measures related to cyber risk management. Where there is cross-border data
exchange, it is recognised that regulations should be issued to ensure that safe and secure data exchange is
enabled. Privacy aspects are becoming more and more an important issue in the exchange of RIS related data.
The rapid development of information and communication technology will pave the way for new applications
used in inland navigation and will make these RIS Guidelines a ‘living’ document. For this reason, a special
chapter in the PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019 is devoted to upcoming and future development in or related to the
RIS domain. This chapter can guide those who are responsible for the planning and implementation of RIS in
their organisation towards sustainable RIS services, systems and application.

Below is a summary of the most significant updates in the RIS Guidelines 2019:
 Where possible, the Guidelines have been converted from European-oriented guidelines into guidelines
applicable worldwide.
 The conditions and consequences of the planning and the first steps towards the implementation of RIS
enabled Corridor Management are included.
 Lessons learnt from PIANC report ‘e-Navigation for Inland Waterways 2017’ were incorporated with respect
to the synergy of e-Navigation with RIS and the possible strengthening of RIS through alignment with e-
Navigation.
 A high-level vision on developments that will likely affect RIS in the future.

3
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation), the European Data Protection Regulation will be applicable as of 25
May 2018 in all EU member states to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe.

3
Note: PIANC Permanent Working Group 125 presented a draft version of the PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019 to
the UN ECE working party on the Standardisation of Technical and Safety Requirements in Inland Navigation
of the Inland Transport Committee, and to the RIS Working Group of the CCNR. The input and comments of
these organisations are taken in account in this final published version.

An essential change in the PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019 is the alignment between RIS and e-Navigation,
and consequently as a first step the use of the same terminology is implemented in these Guidelines. For
this reason, the term ‘RIS key technologies’ is replaced by ‘Technical Services’ and ‘Services’ are changed
into ‘Operational Services’ to be in line with the terms used in the domain of e-Navigation.

Reading Guide for this Document

The PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019 have been reorganised substantially from the 2011 Guidelines. This
reorganisation has been necessary due to the changes in content and focus in the development of these
Guidelines. Below is a brief summary of the contents of this document:

 Chapter 1 provides an introduction, including historical development of RIS and the RIS Guidelines, the
focus of the 2019 update to the Guidelines and this reading guide.
 Chapter 2 defines the objectives of RIS, RIS stakeholders and their information needs.
 Chapter 3 provides a decomposition of the basic RIS Operational Services into RIS functions to be used as
a guide for those who have a responsibility to plan and implement RIS operational services.
 Chapter 4 provides guidance for implementing RIS Operational Services. The basic elements of the RIS
enabled corridor management concept are introduced and their support to transport management by
information services is defined.
 Chapter 5 describes recommendations on RIS Technical Services (previously RIS key technologies)
including ENC, AIS and Electronic Reporting. Related to chapter 5, Annexes 2 through 6 detail formal
standards supporting RIS Technical Services and globally specified reference data.
 Chapter 6 describes the expected influence of e-Navigation on RIS services in inland navigation and
provides a set of recommendation on how this development should be taken into account in the coming
years.
 In addition to e-Navigation, several other developments may also affect the planning, implementation and
operation of RIS. Chapter 7 provides considerations on these upcoming developments in relation to these
RIS guidelines.
 Successful implementation of RIS requires a structured approach; this is provided in Chapter 8 starting with
a mission statement that should lay out the objectives to be achieved through the implementation of RIS.
This chapter also includes considerations and recommendations with respect to quality-related aspects of
River Information Services. These aspects are recommended to be considered during the phases of
planning, implementing and operating River Information Services.

Annex 1 of these guidelines provides a list of abbreviations used in this document. Note: a separate PIANC
document is published that contains RIS related definitions and abbreviations. The consistent use of definitions
is necessary for common understanding, in particular in striving toward standardisation and RIS-related
legislative activities.

4
2 RIVER INFORMATION SERVICES, OBJECTIVES, STAKEHOLDERS
AND INFORMATION NEEDS
River Information Services and its Objectives
River Information Services is formally defined as the concept for information services in inland
navigation to support traffic and transport management, including the interfaces to other
transport modes.4
River Information Services will support inland waterway transport to become a sustainable transport mode. RIS
will improve the competitiveness of inland navigation and will contribute to the overall goal to make inland
navigation a safe, secure, efficient, and environmentally friendly link in the logistic chain 5.
The specific objectives of River Information Services are providing information to:
(1) Make inland navigation a reliable, plannable and transparent transport mode in the multimodal transport
chain.
(2) Contribute to safety of traffic and transport by:
 reducing traffic and transport incidents and accidents
 reducing injuries
 reducing fatalities
 providing information for law compliance and statistics
(3) Contribute to efficiency of traffic and transport by:
 optimising the use of the capacity of waterways and prevention of traffic congestion
 optimising the carrying capacity of vessels
 enabling ‘Just in Time’ transport by a better predictability of travel times
 reduction of travel times and waiting times
 reducing the workload and increasing situational awareness of RIS users
 reducing transport costs
 reducing fuel consumption
 improving the efficiency of harbours and terminals
(4) Contribute to environmentally friendly transport by:
 reducing environmental hazards
 facilitating smooth flow of traffic
 reducing/detecting polluting emissions (in particular CO2) and spills due to accidents, illegal actions or
normal operations

These objectives should be met under the constraints that RIS is supplied in a manner that is reliable, cost
efficient and legally sound.
Internal commercial activities between one or more involved companies are outside the scope of RIS, but RIS
is open for interfacing with commercial activities. RIS are provided by fairway authorities to

 other fairway authorities

 waterway users
 related logistic partners

According to the national allocation of responsibilities RIS are in the jurisdiction of local, regional or national
authorities.

RIS and the RIS systems and applications collect, process, assess and disseminate in a harmonised way
fairway, traffic and transport information. It is essential that this fairway, traffic and transport information is
harmonised worldwide; this is made possible through use of an internationally approved framework for RIS as

4
Based on the definition in the RIS-directive 2005/44/EC.
5
In 2011, the European Commission adopted its White paper ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a Competitive
and Resource-Efficient Transport System’. The White paper gives a vision for a competitive and resource efficient transport system and
defines goals to be reached stepwise in the years 2030 and 2050. Regarding RIS, the White Paper calls for the deployment of transport-
related information and communication technology to ensure improved and integrated traffic management and to simplify administrative
procedures through improved freight logistics, cargo tracking and tracing, and optimised schedules and traffic flows.
With respect to the contribution to environmental friendliness, it can be stated that RIS contributes to the United Nations Strategic
Developments Goals on actions to combat climate change.

5
depicted in these guidelines, and to the extent possible international standards for technology and data
exchange.

The RIS objectives are in service of RIS stakeholders; therefore, it is important to identify these stakeholders
and their information needs as the basis for River Information Services.

RIS Stakeholders

The inland navigation sector includes many parties including national authorities, port authorities, vessel owners,
skippers, providers of nautical services, customs authorities, etc. Achieving the objectives of RIS very much
depends on the (information) needs of the stakeholders and interactions between these parties across national
and organisational borders, hence, the RIS Guidelines will describe generic solutions.
The RIS guidelines will not consider how stakeholders are organised, as this may vary in different regions,
countries and organisations.
The RIS Guidelines will focus on general recommendations for implementation of RIS, taking in account
international and national agreements and regulations.

The following categories of stakeholders can be differentiated:

 Consumers of services: RIS users in inland navigation operations.
 Examples of this user group are; skippers, ship owners, lock operators, VTS operators, terminal operators
and port operators, etc.
 Governmental and regulatory and standardisation bodies.
 Examples of this stakeholder group are technical certification authorities, Competent Authorities for traffic
management, and port authorities; this category also includes international bodies such as IMO, IALA, IHO,
CCNR, UNECE, CESNI, and the European Commission.
 Managers in inland navigation.
 Examples of this stakeholder group are fleet managers, waterway managers and water managers.
 Information providers.
 Examples include: waterway authorities, fairway authorities (fairway surveillance, VTS operators, lock
operators, etc.)
 Service providers.
 Examples of this stakeholder group are RIS providers and rescue and emergency service providers.

The different stakeholder groups have their own objectives and requirements on the services, systems and
applications to be provided or used based on their information needs.

RIS Information Needs

Table 2.1 depicts information categories benefitting the potential stakeholders of River Information Services.
The Table 2.1 is organised in different information categories:

 Infrastructure-related information:
o waterway-related information
o land-related information
 Vessel-related information:
o dynamic vessel data
o hull related data
o vessel convoy information
 Voyage-related information
o location related information
o cargo related information
o persons on board related information
 Traffic-related information
o strategic traffic-related Information
o tactical traffic-related information

An essential requirement from RIS users or service consumers is that the information is provided in a
harmonised and standardised way throughout the entire inland waterway network or waterway corridors.

6
The personal data of RIS users, in particular skippers and crew, must be protected as a matter of ensuring users'
trust and often a matter of law. The publication of personal data without consent of the data subject is not
acceptable. Similar protections must be ensured for economically sensitive data.

RIS users or service consumers prefer that information they are required to submit should be able to be provided
via a single entry of information during (international) voyages.

Information Category Information Need

1st 2nd level

Navigation-based information on fairway and/or navigable water area

Fairway and Infrastructure related

Meteorological information
Fairway-related
Water level related information
information
Information on obstructions and limitations
Information on navigation rules and regulations
Information on land region
Information on harbours
Information on terminals
Land-related
Information on locks and ship lifts
information
Information on bridges
Information on cables/pipes overhead and other special constructions
Information on waste reception facilities

Position information of vessels

Vessel related

Dynamic vessel data Information on vessel dynamics (i.e. RoT, velocity, CoG, SoG, ..)
Event based triggers for vessel position
Hull related Information on hull data
information Information on vessels certificates
Vessel-convoy-
Overall convoy information
related information

Information on origin of voyage

Information on intermediate discharge locations
Information on passage points
Information on destination of voyage
Voyage and cargo related

Location-related
information date/time of arrivals
date/time of departures
Predicted deviation of the original voyage plan (of skipper) at defined points on the route (locks,
crossings, berths) and terminals/ports
Information on origin of cargo
Information on destination of cargo
Cargo-related data
Information on cargo details
Loading unit related information
Persons on board Information on number of persons (crew, passengers, etc.) on board
related information Details on persons on board

Berth/terminal information
Information on operational status of locks and bridges
Traffic related

Object-related
Information on actual passage time/duration at locks and bridges
information
Information on predicted passage time/duration at locks and bridges
Information on average passage time/duration for certain categories/certain vessel types
Fairway section- Information on traffic density on a certain stretch and/or corridor (for specific vessel classes)
related information Information on sailing time over a certain stretch for certain vessel classes per sailing direction

Table 2.1 Information needs and information categories

7
3 RIS OPERATIONAL SERVICES AND FUNCTIONS
Functional Decomposition of the RIS Concept

RIS Operational Services have been identified to provide required information to RIS stakeholders. Figure 3.1
shows the relationship between RIS functions and RIS information elements 6, supported by RIS technical
services used to produce, calculate, transport or compose the required capabilities for the operational services.
The RIS-related information elements can be based on data from several sources and/or RIS technical services.

RIS Funtion 1
Information
element 1
RIS Operational Services
Information
element 2

Information
element n Technical
Service 1

RIS Funtion 2
Technical
Information Service 2
element 1

Information
element 2

Information
element n Technical
Service n

RIS Funtion n
Information
element 1

Information
element 2

Information
element n

Figure 3.1: Functional decomposition of RIS operational services

RIS Operational Services

An operational service provides and uses information. It supports the user in accomplishing the task at hand.
RIS operational services are:

Fairway Information Services (FIS): contains geographical, hydrological and administrative information
regarding the waterway infrastructure and fairways in the RIS area that is required by the RIS users to plan,
execute and monitor a voyage. Fairway information is one-way information: shore to ship or shore to
stakeholder’s office.
Traffic Information Services (TIS) are the provision of information to support the safety and efficiency of traffic
and navigation on inland waterways.
 Tactical traffic information (TTI)
TTI is the operational service affecting the skipper’s or the VTS operator’s immediate decisions with respect
to navigation in the actual traffic situation and the close geographic surroundings. Tactical traffic information
contains position and specific vessel information of all targets detected by a radar and presented on an
electronic navigational chart, and enhanced by external traffic information, such as the information provided
by AIS. TTI may be provided on board of a vessel or on shore, e.g. in a VTS.
 Strategic traffic information (STI)
Strategic Traffic Information is the operational service affecting the medium- and long-term decisions of RIS
stakeholders. Strategic traffic information contributes to the planning decision capabilities regarding a safe
and efficient voyage or transport. A strategic traffic image contains all relevant vessels in the RIS area with
their characteristics, types of cargo and ship positions, stored in a database and presented in a table or on
an electronic map.

6
The combination of a few information elements can lead to an information function, which is a digital or physical product that offers
information to a user. A set of information elements belong to an information category.

8
Traffic Management Information (TM) is the operational service that supports traffic management processes
in inland navigation:

 VTS – Vessel Traffic Services.

Where VTS is a set of services implemented and provided in agreement with the IALA guidelines on Vessel
Traffic Services for inland waterways. VTS is implemented by a Competent Authority, designed to improve
the safety and efficiency of vessel traffic and to protect the environment.
 Lock and Bridge management.
Lock and bridge management is the process of planning and operating bridges and locks.
 Traffic Planning Services.
The information process for optimising the predictability and efficiency of the traffic flow on inland waterways.

Information to support Calamity Abatement (CAS) is the operational service that facilitates the actions
necessary to limit the consequences of a calamity (or accidents and incidents).

Information to support Transport Logistics (ITL) is the operational service that supports transport logistic
processes in inland navigation:

 Voyage planning.
Voyage planning is the process of developing a complete detailed description of the journey of a vessel,
from start to finish.
 Transport management.
Transport management is the process of planning, organising and executing of the efficient movement of
goods from one location to another.
 Port and terminal management
Port and terminal management is the process of planning, organising and executing the efficient ship and
cargo handling in a port and terminal.
 Cargo and fleet management
Cargo and fleet management is the process of planning, organising and executing the efficient handling of
cargo and vessels in a transport company.

Information to support Law Compliance (ILC) is the information that facilitates legal compliance for the
waterway users and supports relevant agencies responsible for inland navigation law enforcement.

Statistics Information (ST) is the information on traffic and transport in inland navigation that is required to
support statistical processes.

Information for Waterway Charges and Harbour Dues (WCD) is the information needed to facilitate the
calculation and collection of waterway charges and harbour dues.

9
 Mainly traffic-related
1. Fairway information Services (FIS)
2. Traffic information Services (TIS)
a) Tactical traffic information (TTI)
b) Strategic traffic information (STI)
3. Information to support Traffic Management (TM)
a) Local traffic management (vessel traffic services - VTS)
b) Lock and bridge management (LBM)
c) Traffic Planning (TP)
4. Information to support Calamity Abatement (CAS)

Mainly transport-related
5. Information to support Transport Logistics (ITL)
a) Voyage planning (VP)
b) Transport management (TPM)
c) Port and terminal management (PTM)
d) Cargo and fleet management (CFM)
6. Information to support Law Compliance (ILC)
7. Information to support Statistics (ST)
8. Information for Waterway Charges and Harbour Dues (CHD)

Table 3.2: RIS Operational Services

RIS Functions

Figure 3.1 shows the connections between operational services and functions and information elements. A set
of information elements is combined into information categories. The information categories are presented in
Table 2.1 and give an overview of the information needs of the stakeholders of RIS.
Based on the information needs the RIS functions are defined and presented in Table 3.3. The table is intended
to be used as a guide for those who have a responsibility to implement RIS operational services
Each function in the table provides a function number, the function number is related to the first level information
category. As an example: ‘F2 – provide meteorological information’ has a primary relation to the category of
infrastructure-related information.

10
 Information Category Functions

1st Function
level 2nd level 1st level 2nd level Number

Provide navigation-based information on fairway and/or navigable water area F1

Provide information on bank of waterway, boundaries of the fairway, etc.
Provide information on depth profile of the fairway
Provide information on non-navigable or un-surveyed water area
Provide information on anchorage areas, mooring facilities and berths
Provide information on permanently moored vessel or facility in waterway
Provide meteorological information F2
Provide continuous weather information
Provide weather warnings
Provide actual ice situation
Provide predicted ice situation
Provide water level related information F3
Provide actual water levels
Provide predicted water levels
Provide actual discharge information
Fairway Related Provide predicted discharge information
Information Provide least sounded actual depths information (shallow sections)
Provide least sounded predicted depths information (shallow sections)
Provide barrage status
Provide regime status
Provide information on obstructions and limitations F4
Provide information on long-time obstructions in the fairway
Fairway and Infrastructure related

Provide information on temporary obstructions in the fairway

Provide information on ferries
Provide information on navigation rules and regulations F5
Provide information on official aids-to-navigation
Provide information on traffic signs
Provide information on traffic rules and regulation
Provide information on anchorage areas, mooring facilities and berths
Provide information on waterway charges, harbour dues and infrastructure
charges
Provide actual status of light signals
Provide information on land region F6
Provide information on harbours F7
Provide information on harbour area and basin
Provide information on category of harbour facility
Provide information on port schedule
Provide information on terminals F8
Provide information on category of terminal
Provide information on cranes and boat ramps
Provide information on terminal schedule
Provide information on locks and ship lifts F9
Land related Provide information on construction and facility
information Provide information on lock schedule
Provide operational status of locks
Provide information on bridges F10
Provide information on construction
Provide information on openable bridge schedule
Provide operational status of openable bridges
Provide information on vertical clearance
Provide information on cables/pipes overhead and other special constructions F11
Provide information on construction
Provide information on vertical clearance
Provide information on waste reception facilities F12

11
 Information Category Functions

1st Function
level 2nd level 1st level 2nd level Number

Provide position information of vessels V1

Provide actual position information of vessels
Provide historic position information of vessels
Provide vessel dynamics (i.e. RoT, velocity, CoG, SoG, ..) V2
Dynamic vessel Provide actual vessel dynamics (i.e. RoT, velocity, CoG, SoG, ..)
data Provide historic vessel dynamics (i.e. RoT, velocity, CoG, SoG, ..)
Provide event based triggers for vessel position V3
Provide notifications of arrivals at defined (passage) points of the waterway
Provide notifications of arrivals or departures at defined locations on the
Vessel related

waterway
Provide information on hull data V4
Provide specific information on hull data
Provide data for the identification of vessels (minimum hull data set)
Provide full hull data
Hull related Provide information on craft certificates V5
information Provide community certificate
Provide ADN tank certificate
Provide ADN dry certificate
Provide measurement certificate
Provide other certificate
Provide overall convoy data V6
Vessel - convoy Provide information on convoy type
related information Provide information on the hulls of a convoy
Provide information on the characteristics of a convoy

Provide information on origin of voyage VC1

Provide information on intermediate discharge locations VC2
Provide information on passage points VC3
Provide information on destination of voyage VC4
Provide information on date/ time of arrivals VC5
Provide estimated date/ time of arrivals
Location related
Provide requested date/time of arrivals
information
Provide date/time of actual arrivals
Provide information on estimated date/ time of departures VC6
Provide estimated date/ time of departures
Provide date/time of actual departures
Voyage and cargo related

Provide date/time of requested departures

Provide information on the predicted deviation of the original voyage plan (of skipper) at
defined points on the route (locks, crossings, berths,) and terminals/ports VC7
Provide information on origin of cargo VC8
Provide information on destination of cargo VC9
Provide information on cargo details VC10
Provide details of cargo sender
Provide details of cargo receiver
Provide details of non-dangerous cargo
Provide details of dangerous cargo
Cargo related data
Provide port of loading
Provide estimated date/time of departure at loading place
Provide port of discharge
Provide estimated date/time of arrival at discharge place
Provide loading unit related information VC11
Provide number of containers on board
Provide information on type of containers on board
Persons on board Provide information on number of persons (crew, passengers, ...) on board VC12
related information Provide details on persons on board VC13

12
 Information Category Functions

1st Function
level 2nd level 1st level 2nd level Number

Provide berth/terminal information T1

Number of vessels at berth
Percentage of occupied berth space
Exact location of vessel at berth
Predicted number of vessels at berth at a certain time / in a time period
Predicted percentage of occupied berth space at a certain time / in a time
period
Reserved berth space (in percent or list of vessels) at a certain time / in a
certain period
Provide information on operational status of locks T2
Door status (open, closing, closed, opening, malfunction, unknown)
Chamber availability for navigation (Yes or No, if No then vessels entering,
vessels leaving, locking in process, not in operation, unknown)
Water level at lock chamber (low, leveling up, high, leveling down, unknown)
Position of vessels in a lock chamber including number of blue cones or
passenger vessel or certificate
Number of announced vessels approaching the lock per sailing direction
Object related
(arriving on short term)
information
Number of vessels waiting for locking per sailing direction
Traffic related

The still available length and/or width

Provide information on actual passage time/duration at locks and bridges T3
Actual passage duration
Actual waiting time
Actual locking duration
Sequence of entering the lock / passing bridge
Provide information on predicted passage time/duration at locks and bridges T4
Predicted passage duration
Predicted waiting time
Predicted locking duration
Planned locking time
Provide information on average passage time/duration for certain categories / certain T5
vessel types
Average passage duration
Average waiting time
Average locking duration
Provide information on traffic density on a certain stretch and/or corridor (for specific T6
vessel classes)
Actual density
Waterway section
Predicted density
related information
Average density
Provide information on sailing time over a certain stretch for certain vessel classes per T7
sailing direction

Table 3.3: Functional decomposition of River Information Services

13
4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RIS
OPERATIONAL SERVICES
General

1. RIS operational services should be provided by waterway authorities that are competent for implementing
RIS.
2. Interfaces for access to RIS operational services should be provided for all RIS stakeholders and should
include interfaces to stakeholders in other transport modes.
3. Information provided through RIS should come from reliable sources and should always be validated and
approved by the Competent Authority.
4. RIS providers shall always keep data protection in mind (including privacy and commercially sensitive data)
and ensure that sensitive data is only accessible to authorized users.
5. Wherever RIS requires the submission of electronic reports from vessels, it should strive to ensure that the
information is reported only once (single window) and is made available to other RIS users with an authentic
need for the information.
6. Information provided through RIS should include an indication of the quality of the information. Depending
on the type of information, this quality can be expressed in terms of accuracy, reliability, age, completeness,
conformity to standards, etc. The user should be informed at least on:

 availability and reliability of the information

 accuracy, correctness and age of the information
 completeness of the information

7. A list of all available operational services should be provided including information on how they can be
accessed.
8. The publication of RIS information should take into consideration the languages spoken by the RIS
stakeholders.

Legal Considerations

1. Before implementing RIS operational services, it is essential to consider the legal framework and
implications related to the implementation and operation RIS operational and technical services.
2. The legal considerations should be outlined upfront as to identify any actions necessary to be addressed in
providing RIS services. E.g. the need for amendment of the shipping legislation, the preparation and
execution of administrative agreements, the need for additional rules and regulations on the use of the
operational services, liabilities associated with the provision and use of information, etc.
3. A RIS authority should take into account the legal consequences of the different RIS operational as well as
technical services.
4. Legal considerations should include the following aspects:

 tasks and responsibilities of the RIS authorities

 regulations of data exchange at national and (if applicable) at international level
 rules and regulation for the data storage and data exchange, especially taking into account data
privacy regulations

Training Considerations

The successful operation of RIS depends upon competent and experienced RIS stakeholders. Training and
education are essential for the efficient and safe use of RIS.

1. Training courses should be developed and taught on the use of the different operational and technical
services taking into consideration the education level and experiences of the different stakeholder groups.
2. Especially for users aboard vessels, courses should be developed for distant learning or e-learning.
3. For certain operational services – e.g. Traffic Management Information – and technical services – e.g. AIS
and ENCs – simulation systems should be considered for RIS operators and the education of users on board
vessels.
4. Courses that are available should be adapted to local conditions.

14
 Technical Considerations

1. Services should be accessible through machine-to-machine interfaces (e.g. web services).

2. Multiple harmonised means should be used to provide services to a wide range of users with different needs.
In addition to publication on websites, the use of smartphone apps or transmission via AIS ASM should be
considered.
3. RIS providers and RIS users should be required or encouraged to use only certified equipment and software
or equipment that fulfils relevant technical standards
4. Common RIS services should be published at a single point of access.
5. If sensitive RIS data is restricted on a user account level, it should be ensured that one user account is valid
anywhere in the connected waterway network.
6. RIS providers of a connected waterway network should harmonise the process for user authentication and
registration to ensure the same quality and protection levels in all countries.
7. To ease the automated interpretation of RIS information, data encoded to a common standard should be
used wherever possible.
8. To ensure interoperability of different RIS operational services, they should use the same reference data.
This is especially applicable for geographic reference data.

Fairway Information Services

1. Fairway information contains static and dynamic as well as urgent information regarding the fairway. Static
and dynamic information should be communicated and updated on a regular scheduled basis.
2. Fairway information should be provided at a national level or – in case of trans-national waterways –
preferably at corridor or international level by implementing and operating a single point of access for FIS
information.
3. Urgent information typically concerns unscheduled events. It, therefore, should be published and updated
frequently as it changes. Typical means of publishing urgent information is via VHF voice radio, but AIS and
other means to augment voice radio transmission should be considered under special conditions as well.

Traffic Information Services

Traffic Information Services may be provided on two levels:

1. As tactical traffic information (TTI) using radar overlaid in a viewer for Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC)
and integrated with information from an AIS system.
2. As strategic traffic information (STI) used for e.g. traffic monitoring for medium and long-term decision
making.

Tactical Traffic Information (TTI)

1. For circumstances of poor visibility vessels should be equipped with radar to monitor all other ships in the
close navigational area.
2. AIS data is of great help to improve the awareness of the traffic situation on board and is improving the
safety of inland navigation. For this reason, AIS should be made mandatory for use on board of inland
vessels.
3. If Tactical Traffic Information is used for navigation, it is recommended that the radar information be
complemented by fused AIS and IENC information. This should be done by certified navigation systems and
fitted only by certified installers.
4. The display of TTI as navigation tool should take care that AIS information does not confuse or overload the
display. Vessel name is considered as minimum AIS information to be displayed in the traffic image, other
vessel related information should be available on request.
5. The display of TTI as navigation tool should include from the ENC at least the safety-relevant infrastructural
objects.
6. If a TTI display is not used for navigation, it is sufficient to display AIS information on an official ENC, in this
case certification is not considered mandatory.
7. The provision of DGNSS data by means of AIS Message 17 is recommended to improve the quality of the
position information.

15
8. Tactical traffic information to be displayed on shore for Traffic Management purposes, such as VTS and lock
and bridge management, should include at least the fused AIS and ENC information and if needed the radar
information.

Strategic Traffic Information (STI)

1. Strategic traffic information should be implemented when permanent monitoring of the traffic situation in the
RIS area is needed for medium-term and long-term decision making.
2. For strategic traffic and transport management operational services, ship reporting in combination with an
AIS network can be essential technical services. For this reason, AIS and electronic ship reporting should
be made mandatory by the Competent Authority.
3. Electronic ship reporting complements real-time traffic information and allows for deviation management
along vessel routes.

Traffic Management Information

1. Traffic Management is heavily depending on the availability of Traffic Information Services, including the
technical services of AIS and electronic reporting.
2. Requirements for Traffic Management vary with local conditions (e.g. number of locks and bridges,
complexity of the fairway infrastructure, type and volume of traffic). Therefore, the specific needs and goals
for Traffic Management in a particular area should be analysed carefully before the introduction of TM
services and systems.

Vessel Traffic Services (VTS)

1. A VTS – if applicable – should be planned, implemented and operated in accordance with the IALA
Recommendation V-120: ‘Vessel Traffic Services in Inland Waters’, and the CCNR guidelines on inland
VTS.
2. RIS does not necessarily include VTS, but VTS uses RIS technical and operational services.
3. The Tactical Traffic Image (TTI) to be used in an inland VTS is produced by collecting shore-based radar
and AIS information, and displaying vessel information on a display system, usually incorporating an ENC.
For a long river stretch and heavy traffic, the TTI may be enhanced by automated target tracking.
4. AIS enhances tactical and strategic traffic information in a VTS area and as such is a critical part of the VTS
capabilities. Mandatory use of AIS on board of vessels will improve the performance of an inland VTS. AIS
provides more vessel related information and improves the overview of the traffic situation over a wider area
than radar and can improve communication with and among vessels in the VTS area.

Lock and Bridge Management

1. Optimisation of lock and bridge management may require technical services such as electronic reporting,
AIS, a vessel registration database, a lock diary including lock cycle optimisation software, and additional
technical sensors systems such as CCTV
2. RIS should aid in optimising traffic flow and reducing administrative burden on skippers and operators by:

 facilitating information exchange for lock and bridge planning with neighbouring locks and bridges
 optimising lock cycles through the calculation of ETAs/RTAs, particularly for chains of locks and
bridges
 providing information on
o waiting times and/or
o expected and requested time of passing

3. Optimisation of lock and bridge management should lead to reduced waiting times at locks and
bridges, increased utilisation of the capacity of locks, and improved prediction of voyage duration.
Optimisation of lock and bridge management supports more efficient management of logistic chains.

16
 Traffic Planning

1. Traffic planning optimises vessel passage time on a fairway or through a transport corridor by providing
information on the state of the fairway and passing times at locks and bridges on a fairway or corridor in an
integrated approach.
2. Through electronic reporting and availability of tactical and strategic traffic information, waterway authorities
can better anticipate the demand for use of facilities in the RIS area and provide enhanced Traffic
Management Services.
3. Based on an ETA at the final destination, the fairway authority can advise a ship to adapt its ETA to optimise
the arrival of the ship in consideration of other resources. This allows for better use of infrastructure and
reduced waiting times leading to improved efficiency.
4. Traffic Planning (TP) optimises not only voyage planning for vessels but also supports the entire transport
chain. Improved Traffic Planning will improve the competitive position of inland navigation in the multimodal
transport chain.

Information to Support Calamity Abatement

1. RIS services that facilitate Calamity Abatement include reporting of involved, responding, and affected
vessels' positions, voyage information, (dangerous) cargo, and crew (e.g. persons on board). Obtaining this
information at the beginning of a voyage and keeping it up-to-date during the voyage is critical to effective
support of calamity abatement.
2. In case of an accident, RIS services should be able to deliver information on the vessel, its voyage and
cargo to meet the requirements of the emergency services. These requirements should be identified in
advance of incidents and included in contingency plans and tested during incident training and drills.
3. In case of accidents, responsible waterway authorities of neighbouring RIS areas should be informed on the
type, status and possible consequences of an accident.
4. Vessels in the vicinity of an accident should be informed without delay about possible impact of an accident
on their voyage in order to limit possible negative consequences of an accident.

Information for Transport Logistics

1. RIS authorities should design their information systems in such a way that information exchange between
public and private partners is as easy as possible and privacy and security requirements are addressed.
Authorities should take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of confidentiality of commercial
information.
2. RIS authorities should accommodate the requirements of logistic services to the extent possible, such as:

 the exchange of information between users and customers relating to vessels and terminals
 fleet and crew planning support
 ETA/RTA negotiations between vessels and terminals
 vessel tracking and tracing

Information for Law Compliance

1. RIS should provide information as required by the reporting formalities of law enforcement authorities.
2. RIS authorities should ensure the information provided by electronic reporting is sufficient to be used for all
cross-border inspection formalities.
3. Provision of documents and information by electronic means to inspection and control authorities should
reduce administrative burden and should result in fewer and more efficient inspections.
4. Law enforcement agencies in different countries should share vessel, cargo, and crew information to reduce
administrative burden and improve the efficiency of law enforcement.
5. Law enforcement agencies should use RIS services to provide positive incentives for skippers, e.g. by
providing information on local, regional, and national regulations and rules in via electronic means via FIS
or ECDIS.

17
 Information for Statistics

1. RIS operational services for statistics should be based on RIS technical services including AIS and electronic
reporting. Storing RIS related information over time will facilitate various statistical analyses for use by
stakeholders.
2. Using RIS information for statistical purposes should reduce:

 costs on both authorities and the logistic sector for provision, collection and evaluation of data
 double data input in different countries and for different purposes, which leads also to data
inconsistency, wrong data and high costs
 administrative burden

Information for Waterway Charges and Harbour Dues

1. RIS operational services for waterway charges and harbour dues should rely on the RIS technical services
including Electronic Reporting and AIS.
2. Information provided about waterway charges and harbour dues for all users should be language
independent and provided keeping in mind user friendliness and the importance of ensuring understanding
by the user.
3. If sufficient information from AIS and/or electronic reporting is available, it may be used for automated billing,
thus reducing administrative burden.

RIS enabled Corridor Management

As stated in Chapter 2.3, it is essential for RIS users or service consumers that information is provided in a
harmonised and standardised way throughout the inland waterway network or waterway corridors. This
requirement is the core objective of ‘RIS Enabled Corridor Management’ as it has been developed and defined
in recent years.

Corridor management as a concept aims at linking operational services together on a route or network in order
to provide a harmonised set of services on a complete route or corridor supporting skippers on their voyage on
the network.

The definition of RIS Enabled Corridor Management is:

“Corridor Management is defined as operational services among fairway authorities mutually and with
waterway users and related logistic partners in order to optimise use of inland navigation corridors
within a network of waterways”

Corridor Management requires sharing of information between authorities and the cooperation of public and
private partners and is necessary to improve both the performance of inland navigation and the use of the
existing infrastructure.
Corridor Management requires a structured cooperation among fairway authorities to provide a precisely defined
set of harmonised operational services in the required quality.
The cooperating waterway authorities (respectively RIS authorities) in a specific corridor will have to agree
mutually on the operational services and functions they are planning to provide in that corridor. Besides the
technical and procedural harmonisation, this agreement among the fairway authorities is a key element of
Corridor Management.
A corridor in the sense of Corridor Management is the ‘RIS Area’, being a formally described area where River
Information Services are provided. A corridor is dependent on the geographic region and the organisational
diversity where corridor management is applied.
There are three levels of corridor management services:
Level 1: Operational services to enable reliable route planning by providing harmonised and standardised –
dynamic and static – infrastructural information.

Level 2: Operational services to enable reliable travelling times for voyage planning and for traffic management,
by providing traffic information:

18
a) considering the actual use of the waterway network (e.g. actual waiting times)
b) also, considering predictions during a voyage (e.g. predicted waiting times on the corridor) where considered
reasonable

Level 3: Operational services to support transport management of the logistic partners (e.g. deviation
management) and dealing with the information on vessels and the cargo.

The following information categories are covered by the related level:

Corridor Management Level Information categories on
 Static Infrastructural information
Level 1  Dynamic Infrastructural information
 Prediction of water levels and ice
 Vessel related information
Level 2a  Traffic related information
 Voyage related information
Level 2b  Traffic planning/prediction
 Tracking information of specific vessels and/or cargo
Level 3
 Prediction of delays for specific vessels

Table 4.1: RIS Enabled Corridor Management Service Levels

Operational Services Architecture

As defined in Chapter 2.3, RIS users or service consumers would prefer that information they are required to
provide should be able to be done via a single entry of information at the start of the voyage. RIS stakeholders
would benefit from one ‘single point of access’ to relevant RIS information, e.g. planning and conducting a
voyage.

1. The RIS operational service architecture should be comprised of local, regional, or national RIS operational
services, based on public information or release public information, across borders, on a corridor, or the
entire network of inland waterways.
2. Implementing RIS operational services according to this principle should mean that RIS stakeholders are
able to access via a single point public information on:
 FIS: Fairway Information Services of the entire network or corridor
 TIS: Traffic Information Services of the entire network or corridor
 TM: Traffic Management Information of the entire network or corridor
 CAS: Information to support Calamity Abatement
 ILC: information to support for Law Compliance
 ST: Information for statistical data services of the entire network or corridor
 CHD: Information for Waterway Charges and Harbour Dues

3. To reduce administrative burden on the users all information should only be required to be provided once.
4. Some operational services need input from privacy-related sensitive information such as:
 vessel position information
 vessel hull information
 vessel voyage information
 vessel cargo information

The information should be available for authorised users only from a single and controlled point of access. The
provision of these information categories is a sub-service of the RIS service Information to transport logistics
(ITL).

5. If sensitive RIS data is restricted on user account level, it should be ensured that the. same user account is
valid anywhere in the connected waterway network.
6. User authentication and registration should be harmonised on the complete waterway network to ensure the
same quality and protection levels throughout the (international) network.

19
5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RIS
TECHNICAL SERVICES
General

RIS should be based on technical services that facilitate the provision of information related to:
1. Fairway and infrastructure information (5.2 and 5.3)
2. Vessel-related information (5.4)
3. Voyage- and cargo-related information (5.5)

The efficient and effective use of RIS technical services is based upon harmonised use of reference data. RIS
reference data ensures the interoperability of RIS operational and technical services. Chapter 5.6 provides
recommendations on the implementation of reference data.
Several RIS technical services have their origin in the maritime domain; the following technical services are used
on a global level:
1. ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) as standardised by the IMO (International
Maritime Office); the ENC (Electronic Nautical Charts) are standardised by the IHO (International
Hydrographic Office).
2. Notices to Mariners following IHO/IMO guidelines for navigational warnings.
3. The Automatic Identification System (AIS) as standardised by ITU (International Telecommunication Union)
and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). The performance standard for AIS was defined by
IMO (International Maritime Organisation) and developed by IALA (International Association of Lighthouse
Authorities).
4. The EDIFACT standard as published UN-CEFACT incorporating IFTDGN message and partially complying
IMO FAL forms.

To ensure interoperability throughout the entire transport and logistics chain the components of the RIS technical
services shall be aligned with applicable international standards and recommendations such as those issued by
CCNR, IEC, IHO, IMO and IALA, ISO, ITU, PIANC UNECE and other relevant bodies.
Apart from the defined RIS technical services, many technologies, such as radar and VHF radiotelephone
services, mobile data connections (e.g. mobile (telephone) networks, satellite, Wi-Fi, WiMax, LoRa, etc.) are
important supporting technologies for RIS. Description of these technologies is beyond the scope of these
guidelines.
The PIANC RIS Guidelines 2019 are based on the basic RIS technical services as defined and developed in
previous decades. Due to their operational service-driven approach (as depicted in the functional decomposition
in chapter 3) RIS operational services are open for the use of new technologies and technical services that might
arise in coming years, for example, through development of the e-Navigation concept.
In different regions of the world, different versions or types of RIS technical services are implemented, these
different technical services are depicted in the next figure.

20
 Standards for RIS Technical Services

Fairway and Fairway and

Voyage and
infrastructure infrastructure Vessel Cargo
Information Information information information
(static) (dynamic)

Maritime ECDIS
Notices to
AIS EDIFACT
standards Mariners

European Notices to Electronic

Inland ECDIS Inland AIS
standards Skippers Reporting (ERI)

USA Notices to
IENC AIS --
standards Mariners

Russian Notices to
ECDIS AIS --
standards Mariners

Figure 5.1: Worldwide application of RIS technical services standards

Worldwide provision of static fairway and infrastructure information is primarily accomplished using the
Electronic Navigation Chart (ENC) in conjunction with Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS).
In Europe the inland version (inland ECDIS) is used; in US inland waterways, the inland ENC (IENC) is used
with electronic charting systems (ECS). More information on this technical service is given in chapter 5.2 with
more specific information and the related standards in Annex 2.
Provision of dynamic fairway and infrastructure information is accomplished worldwide using the ‘Notices to
Mariners’. In the European inland waterways, this information is provided through ‘Notices to Skippers’. More
information on this technical service is given in Chapter 5.3 with more specific information and the related
standards in Annex 3.
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is used worldwide for vessel situational awareness and vessel
tracking. In European inland waterways, a version of AIS named ‘Inland AIS’ is in use. More information on this
technical service is given in Chapter 5.4 with more specific information and the related standards in Annex 4.
For voyage- and cargo-related information, in European inland waterways the technical service on Electronic
reporting (ERI) is in operation, based on the worldwide EDIFACT standard. More information on this technical
service is given in Chapter 5.5 with more specific information and the related standards in Annex 5.
General information on ‘reference data’ is given in Chapter 5.6. Annex 6 provides details on standards for
reference data.

Technical Services to Support the Provision of Static Fairway and

Infrastructure Information

The principal technical service in the RIS domain for the provision of static fairway and infrastructure information
is an electronic navigational chart or ENC.
An ENC is an official database created by a national hydrographic office for use with an Electronic Chart Display
and Information System (ECDIS), Electronic Charting System (ECS), or other display system. An ENC should
at least comply with the standards S-57 and S-58 stated by IHO.
ECDIS is a system for the display of electronic navigation charts (ENC’s) and additional geographic related
information. ECDIS is displaying selected information from a System Electronic Navigational Chart (SENC) with
positional information from navigation sensors and (if required) additional navigation-related information. Its

21
purpose is to contribute to safety and efficiency of navigation and thus also to protection of the environment and
reducing the workload of the skipper.
Inland ENC are based on the standards for maritime ENC, supplemented with special information for the use
on inland waterways. That means that currently:
a. Inland vessels sailing in maritime waters with Inland ENC displays are able to portray all maritime ENC
information.
b. Sea-going vessels sailing in inland waters with maritime ENC displays are able to portray all information
that is provided equivalent to marine information (e.g. river banks), but they will not portray the additional
inland information (e.g. inland notice marks).
1. Sea-river vessels are recommended to use the additional Inland ENC software libraries in order to obtain
full Inland ENC information. These are:
 S-57, S-63 or S-401
 S-58

2. The presentation of ENC’s should comply with the IHO S-52 Standard (edition 3.0) and with the amendments
published by the IEHG.
3. It is recommended to include the water depths in the ENC’s (depth contours) for shallow river stretches that
limit the draught of vessels using these waterways. The water depths may be related to a reference water
level or to the actual water level. It is recommended to use the S-104 and S-112 product specifications if
applicable.

Technical Services to Support the Provision of Dynamic Fairway and

infrastructure Information

In the maritime domain the Notices to Mariners (NtM) standard is used for publication and provision of the status
of navigation infrastructure. This is, however, not the only standard for providing waterway or navigation
information, e.g. there is also Navtex, weather warnings, etc.
The general idea is to provide dynamic fairway and infrastructure information in electronic format which allows
for intelligent filtering and display of the available information.
1. Typically, the following types of information are provided through NtM:
 dynamic fairway information
 dynamic traffic-related information
 AtoN information
 water level-related messages
 ice messages
 weather-related messages

2. It is recommended that the provision of traffic related messages is:

 machine-readable
 language independent
 using official standardised location codes for referring to geographic objects
 should be provided according an agreed encoding principle to ensure harmonised codification in
different areas

Technical Services to Support the Provision of Vessel Information

The principal technical service in the RIS domain for the provision of vessel information is AIS.
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a shipborne radio data system, providing (static and dynamic)
vessel-related information between equipped vessels and between equipped vessels and shore stations.
Shipborne AIS stations broadcast the vessel’s identity, position and other data at regular intervals. By receiving
this information, shipborne or shore-based AIS stations within radio range can automatically locate, identify and
track AIS equipped vessels and present this information an appropriate display integrated with radar and ECS
information or Inland ENC display.
AIS is a source for navigation-related information but is not a navigation system. AIS does not replace
navigation-related services such as tracking by radar, but augments and enhances them. The strength of AIS

22
lies in the provision of ships identity and other navigation related data for those vessels fitted with it. AIS and
radar complement one another due to their different characteristics.
For vessels on international voyages, AIS carriage requirements according to the SOLAS convention applies.
To ensure interoperability, it is recommended to use AIS for the provision of vessel information in accordance
with the standards as given in Annex 4, taking in account possible regional requirements.
Inland AIS is based on the standards for maritime AIS, supplemented with special information for the use on
inland waterways.

Technical Services to Support the Provision of Voyage and Cargo Information

Electronic Ship Reporting is a RIS technical service that facilitates the following RIS operational services:

 Strategic Traffic Information (STI)

 Traffic Management Information (TM)
 Information to Support Calamity Abatement (CAS)
 Statistics Information (ST)
 Information to support Law Compliance (ILC)
 Information on Waterway Charges and Harbour Dues (CHD)
 Information for Transport Logistics (ITL)

Electronic ship reporting will reduce the administrative burden and improve the quality of information being
exchanged. Electronic ship reporting in Inland Navigation facilitates electronic data interchange between
partners in inland navigation as well as partners in the multi-modal transport chain involving inland navigation
and avoids the reporting of the same information related to a voyage several times to different authorities and/or
commercial parties.
Electronic transport notifications are intended to inform the Competent Authorities of the intention to make a
defined voyage with a designated ship, either carrying a specified cargo or being empty. The transport
notification can either originate from the skipper of the ship or from the shipper of the cargo on behalf of the
skipper.

1. Exchange of ship, voyage and cargo data by electronic reporting reduces the need for voice communication
via VHF and reduces errors in (verbally) reported information.
2. Electronic reporting should replace the need for carrying physical documents.
3. Electronic reporting supports safety and calamity abatement and as such electronic reporting should be
made mandatory as needed in support of these services.
4. It is the responsibility of the skipper or the agent or shipper of the transported cargo to report the required
information.
5. It is required that the Competent Authorities are able, as far as ship reporting is required by national or
international regulations, to receive and process electronic ship reports.
6. The Competent Authorities should take the necessary measures to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and
security of information sent to them pursuant this standard. They should use such information only for the
purposes of the intended operational services, for example support for calamity abatement (CAS) and border
control and inspections as Law Compliance Information service (ILC).
7. It is required that a request to forward information contained in a ship-to-authority-message to any other
involved party will not be executed without explicit approval from the owner of the information being the
skipper of the vessel or the shipper of the cargo.
8. An agreement on the protection of privacy between all involved public and private parties should be
concluded, based on UNECE Recommendation 26 that contains a ‘Model Interchange Agreement’ – if
applicable – or regional agreements depending on regional or local legislation.
9. It is recommended that transport notifications shall be sent before the start of a voyage initially before
entering the jurisdictional area of a Competent Authority and subsequently after every significant change of
the voyage data, e.g. number of crew on board or number of barges in the convoy.
10. When a ship requires a permit for the voyage or part thereof, it is recommended that the competent waterway
authority shall acknowledge the message after processing the contents of the notification. The
acknowledgement will include the permission together with a reference or where applicable a refusal for
such a permit together with further details upon the action to be taken.

23
11. Arrival notification and position reports are to inform the local waterway operators – such as lock masters,
bridge operators, traffic centre operators, ports and docking crew – of the impending arrival of a ship. It is
recommended that position reports will be sent at certain reporting points at the waterway. Arrival
notifications and position reports can be obtained by AIS (preferably) or VHF radio.
12. In cross-border transport, it is recommended that electronic reports will be transmitted to the Competent
Authorities of the neighbouring jurisdictional area and any such transmission is completed before arrival of
the vessels at the border.

Reference Data Supporting RIS Operational and Technical Services

Reference data is used to uniquely identify critical information needed in the provision of services.
RIS references and code tables are key elements in the RIS-standards and are an important link between the
various RIS operational and technical services. The exchange of digital data without direct human involvement
between RIS users and the providers of RIS operational services is facilitated by the use of codes and
references. RIS reference data contributes to the automated and efficient interpretation of RIS information.
1. In order to guarantee a solid basis for the use of reference data and code tables, it is recommended to pay
special attention to quality and maintenance aspects of the reference data. Maintenance procedures and
procedures for distribution of the reference data and code tables are needed. These procedures should be
understood and agreed upon by all parties making use of reference data.
2. It is recommended – as further specified in Annex 6 – to use:
 the UN LOCODE as part of the reference data for locations
 the RIS index for the unambiguous coding of locations of geographic objects
 the IMO ship identification number as a unique reference for ships and for registered ship owners and
management companies or management companies
 ENI number (European Number of Identification or European Vessel Identification Number) is a
registration for ships capable of navigating on European inland waters
 the HS-code to reference transported goods
 The UNECE ADN-code European code for the carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways

24
6 RECOMENDATIONS ON INTEGRATION OF e-NAVIGATION IN THE
RIS DOMAIN7
In the maritime world, ship and shore-based stakeholders are more and more making use of information
technology to improve the safety, security, reliability and efficiency of waterborne transport. It is seen as essential
to develop in the implementation of these technologies a more integrated and coordinated approach to ensure
that the benefits of new technologies will be seamlessly integrated with existing technologies and services and
not impose an additional burden on users.

The Maritime Safety Committee of IMO (International Maritime Organisation) initiated the development of a
vision with respect to e-Navigation using existing and future supporting systems for navigation of vessels. e-
Navigation is defined as “the harmonised collection, integration, exchange, presentation and analysis of marine
information onboard and ashore by electronic means to enhance berth to berth navigation and related
operational services for safety and security at sea and protection of the marine environment”.

The core objectives of the e-Navigation concept are to:

 facilitate safe and secure navigation of vessels regarding hydrographic, meteorological and navigational
information and risks
 facilitate vessel traffic observation and management from shore/coastal facilities, where appropriate
 facilitate communications, including data exchange, among ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, shore-to-ship,
shore-to-shore and other users
 provide opportunities for improving the efficiency of transport and logistics

PIANC recognised the relevance of the e-Navigation concept development for inland navigation and in 2011
established a Working Group on e-Navigation to determine whether inland navigation could benefit from e-
Navigation development, and to identify the implications for River Information Services. In 2017, the Working
Group published their findings in the report ‘e-Navigation for Inland Waterways’.

The current development of e-Navigation in the maritime world is in a conceptual and/or pilot phase but is moving
very rapidly towards implementation. There are series of initiatives taken in the maritime world on e-Navigation
that are of high interest and importance for Inland Waterway Transport.

Harmonisation between the inland and maritime world is very important, and further development of e-Navigation
for Inland Waterways should be focused on interoperability with maritime e-Navigation wherever it is possible.

A first step in the implementation of e-Navigation for Inland Waterways should be the establishment of links
between RIS and maritime e-Navigation, by creating guidelines that take into account all stakeholder
organisations and are based on common standards for data exchange.

In general, inland navigation and RIS could benefit from the e-Navigation development already in this conceptual
phase; for this reason, in these guidelines general recommendations on policy level and specific
recommendations on technical level are given to be taken into account by those who in the coming years are
planning implementation of RIS in their domain.

General Policy Recommendations on the Mid-Term Development of

e-Navigation in Relation to RIS

1. Formal coordination between members of the RIS community and the maritime e-Navigation community
should be established. The long-term goal of this coordination should be to broaden the scope to include
wider intermodal interaction, whereas the short-term emphasis should focus on the interaction between IWT
and maritime transportation.
2. Harmonisation between the inland and maritime world is very important, and further development of e-
Navigation for Inland Waterways should be focused on interoperability with maritime e- Navigation wherever
it creates benefits for IWT.
3. In order to facilitate alignment between RIS and maritime e-Navigation, it is recommended to use the same
terminology wherever possible or to identify commonalities if different terms are used. In these guidelines
the first steps are taken; however, further alignment is needed.

7
This chapter is based on the report of the PIANC Working Group 156 – ‘e-Navigation for Inland Waterways’ (2017).

25
 4. A communication strategy should be defined to create an awareness of and to promote e-Navigation for
Inland Waterways towards end users and service providers.
5. RIS flagship projects should take into consideration the state of play in maritime e-Navigation, in order to
pave the way for a coordinated implementation of e-Navigation for Inland Waterways.
6. Mixed traffic corridors (e.g. the Western Scheldt, Elbe channel) and hubs (e.g. seaports) should be identified
where e-Navigation for Inland Waterways can reap the highest benefits and achieve quick-wins.
7. Priority areas of harmonisation (organisational, legal, technical, geographical) between maritime e-
Navigation and e-Navigation for Inland Waterways should be identified and addressed within appropriate
flagship projects.
8. A holistic approach is necessary for the development of e-Navigation for Inland Waterways to ensure that
the needs of all stakeholder groups are considered, without emphasis on a specific group. Governmental
organisations can play a crucial role here, as it is presumably the best party to play an independent role.
There is a need for a win-win situation: e.g. a harmonised approach in service delivery and information
exchange, between RIS authorities, logistics sector, skippers, ports, customs, etc. In this way, the
implementation of e-Navigation for Inland Waterways supporting transport management will help inland
navigation become a more efficient and cost-effective transport mode.

Specific Recommendations on the Use of e-Navigation in a RIS Domain

1. As e-Navigation for Inland Waterways is primarily about information sharing, the information barriers between
maritime and inland waterway transport should be identified and information flows harmonised.
2. All involved organisations should use an agreed set of messages, or at least agreed data dictionaries should be
developed.
3. A RIS registry should be developed that goes beyond geo-spatial information. It should be aligned with the e-
Navigation Maritime Services.
4. Services of e-Navigation for Inland Waterways should be proposed and arranged on two registries:

a. a generic registry containing specifications of particular functional services, which might be implemented by
particular organisations in different areas
b. a service registry containing a list of specific services implemented by different providers in different areas
and operating according to the specifications contained in the generic registry

5. The concept of the Maritime Connectivity Platform, which is based on service-oriented architecture (SOA), is
very useful for the implementation of the RIS registry, because the foundation of RIS is based on a set of
operational services, realised through RIS technical services.
6. Standardisation and harmonisation by making use of S-100 and the Common Maritime Data Structure (CMDS)
are strongly recommended. The CMDS will be critical in the implementation of e-Navigation for Inland
Waterways, as similar efforts in the inland world have been for the implementation of RIS. The CMDS is of
interest for inland navigation primarily to ensure interoperability and clear communication of information between
inland and coastal/maritime navigation stakeholders.
7. Harmonised electronic reporting formalities based on the single window(s) principle with seamless data
exchange procedures between the involved stakeholders should be created in the inland environment, to reduce
administrative barriers when sailing through different countries. This approach can support the reduction of the
time loss and the costs due to the administrative workload of the crew, and thus can contribute to the increase
of the competitiveness of IWT as an environmentally friendly mode of transport.
8. Whereas ship-ship, ship-shore and shore-ship information needs and messages are for the most part well
defined, the communication protocols are in many cases ambiguous and not officially standardised on
international level. e-Navigation for Inland Waterways should specifically focus on the areas where
interoperability is required.
9. The maritime e-Navigation overarching architecture may be used in the future development of RIS for finding
communalities and differences between inland and maritime. These differences may indicate areas where there
is incompatibility between the maritime and inland world. Where problems are identified, a cooperative effort
between the appropriate inland and maritime bodies could be undertaken to address the problems.

26
7 CONSIDERATIONS ON MID-TERM RIS-RELATED DEVELOPMENTS
The development and deployment of River Information Services in the last decades have primarily been driven
by transport policy related initiatives on regional, national and international scales. The main objectives of these
initiatives have been the modernisation of the inland waterborne transport mode in order to make inland
navigation more competitive with other land-based transport modes. This chapter reflects on upcoming policy
and project initiatives that will have an impact on RIS, and how RIS might be perceived and utilised by these
initiatives.

Evaluation of the RIS Directive

More than ten years after the adoption and transposition of the RIS Directive, an important level of experience
has been accumulated at the EU, Member State, and stakeholder levels. Concurrently, there have been
important IT and technological developments. RIS has recently been included in the Digital Inland Waterway
Area strategy (DINA), whose aim is to interconnect and unlock the potential of information systems on the
infrastructure, people, vessels, management, and cargo components of inland waterway transport. Therefore,
the European Commission has decided that it is appropriate to examine whether the existing RIS framework is
fit for purpose and delivers as intended/expected. The evaluation of the RIS Directive by the European
Commission is foreseen in 2019.

The scope of the evaluation will focus on the lessons learned from the process by which the technical guidelines
and specifications were delivered. The aim of the envisaged consultations is to seek information and feedback
from the relevant stakeholders and wider public in relation to the effects of the RIS Directive regarding the
provision of harmonised River Information Services in the EU. The consultation activities will target the following
main categories of stakeholders: national administrations, barge owners/operators, skippers, inland port and
terminal operators, inland waterway and freight European associations, shippers and logistics service providers,
companies that produce/make use of RIS technologies, international organisations such as the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE), as well as river CCNR and Danube Commission.

Summarising the roadmap for the RIS Directive, its evaluation will be performed in 2019, followed by an impact
assessment and eventually leading to a revision of the RIS Directive.

The Digital Inland Waterway Area (DINA)8

Transport and logistics are considered to be key sectors in the Digital Single Market strategy of the European
Union9. In many ways’ new digital technologies such as the internet-of-things, data sharing technologies and big
data analytics enable increases in efficiency and reliability. Some examples include:
 New manufacturing technologies and e-commerce processes change the supply chain of businesses and
require new transport services.
 New logistics paradigms such as ‘synchro-modality’ and the ‘Physical Internet’ all rely on new underlying
data-infrastructures to bring together the supply and demand of transport services:
Synchro-modality relates to the strategic, tactic and operational planning of shipments and
transport operations based on real-time availability of available logistics services, data on the
transport means (e.g. the location of trucks or barges and their available capacities) and data on
the infrastructure (e.g. expected delays). By sharing this data, stakeholders can optimise their
transport operations.

The Physical Internet is a new paradigm based on intelligent cargo technology. Cargo is routed
through a self-organising multi-modal transport network. Intelligent hubs or nodes ensure that cargo
is routed to its destination allowing for optimising cargo flows between these hubs.
 In many modes, Intelligent Transport Systems and (semi-)autonomous vehicles make transport more
efficient, reduce emissions and enhance the capacity of Europe’s infrastructure.

8
Chapter 7.2 is based on the report of the DINA study commissioned by the European Commission see the report is available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/studies/2017-10-dina.pdf.
9
European Commission (2015): “A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe”, Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

27
 Electronic data exchange between businesses and government can assist in reducing the administrative
burden.

In 2016, the European Commission has commissioned a study for investigating the potential for digitisation in
the Inland Waterborne Transport sector, and to define a concept for the Digital Inland Waterway Area – DINA.
The study was published at the end of 2017 and can be downloaded from the inland waterways section of the
website of the European Commission10.

The DINA study concluded that it is essential for the future competitiveness of inland waterway transport to
follow the trends in digitisation: in some cases, IWT competes with other modes of transport, whilst in other
cases IWT is part of a larger multi-modal chain making collaboration an essential prerequisite. The study has
identified three areas where digitisation is critically important for IWT:

1. The improvement of navigation and management of traffic: this is necessary to make more efficient use of
the capacity of the infrastructure and to reduce fuel costs for vessel operators.
2. The integration with other modes of transport, especially in multimodal hubs: this is necessary to optimise
processes in terminals, and to allow for an improved integration of IWT in supply chains and multi-modal
logistics operations, thereby potentially attracting additional customers.
3. A reduction of the administrative burden: reducing the number of business-to-government declarations
(thereby saving costs and improving efficiency) and making law-enforcement more efficient and effective.

Several underlying issues have been identified. These range from the lack of data sharing capabilities to the
limited size of the IWT market in comparison to other modes of transport.

The proposed DINA is a concept to interconnect information on infrastructure, people, operations, fleet and
cargo in the inland waterway transport sector, and to connect this information with other transport modes. An
architecture is proposed that allows a controlled sharing of this information, which can serve as a platform for
future developments.

 DINA builds on existing investments and developments such as existing components of River Information
Services. Extensions are proposed to enable real-time data exchange and the improved integration of other
actors such as shippers, logistics service providers and inland ports.
 Furthermore, a digital environment (‘data platform’) for barge operators is needed to allow them to control
data on their vessel, voyages, cargo and crew. They can use this data for their own purposes such as smart
navigation but also share it in a controlled way with other actors, e.g. for reporting purposes.
 It is envisioned that a new on-board toolkit (e-IWT) will be needed to connect barges with this digital
environment and provide functionality for skippers as one of the end-user categories.

Figure 7.1: Conceptual DINA architecture (source: report DINA study)

10 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/inland/studies/inland_waterways_en

28
The study recommends focusing on two aspects as part of the implementation roadmap for DINA:

 Standardisation and governance: providing adequate governance mechanisms to develop and maintain the
standards used in DINA. This can provide the necessary economies of scale. In addition, this is needed to
align with developments in other modalities.
 Public-private collaboration and shared innovation programs to develop the various components of DINA
and to encourage the development of new digital operational services as part of it.

In order to support the European Commission in the development of the DINA policy initiative, a dedicated
Expert Group has been established in 2018.

Smart Shipping

Transport is rapidly shifting towards digitalization. Inland navigation took the first steps with River Information
Services some decades ago and is now taking further steps towards a digital world under impulse of other
activities, e.g. DINA. This digitisation provides transport modes with vast amounts of useful data to optimise the
related processes and thus emphasises the need for a physical internet. A multimodal network will process each
transport demand in the future.

In the case of Inland Navigation, a new concept has developed as an important part of this physical internet and
has been called Smart Shipping. Smart Shipping intends to create a framework where autonomous vessels can
sail safely on a continuous basis, making smaller inland waterways also attractive for commercial navigation
and open opportunities for new types of cargo to be carried by inland waterways vessels. The Smart Shipping
concept might progress from autonomous navigation to autonomous sailing. Smart Shipping is intended to make
it possible to use the inland waterways to their fullest extend so they become a reliable link within the multimodal
network.

To make Smart Shipping possible, different building blocks need to be designed and elaborated. The most
challenging block is the highly automated or autonomous vessel that will facilitate the optimisation of the cargo
volume on board a vessel and allow continuous navigation. Because autonomous vessels need to load and
unload cargo and pass safely through locks and bridges, the infrastructure on the shoreside will need to be
adapted to accommodate the needs of these vessels.

Finally, the interaction between these two physical building blocks and amongst vessels is enabled by means
of data exchange, where the concept of RIS will be challenged to fulfil a reliable role within the framework of
Smart Shipping.

Within the context of Smart Shipping, the role of RIS is expected to focus on the provision of safety related
services of very high quality. The quality aspects will be related to availability, accuracy, completeness, actuality
and integrity of data.

Depending on the criticality of the situation, River Information Services can support autonomous vessels in short-
through mid-term tactical decisions. Short-term tactical decisions will be needed in case of direct manoeuvring,
while mid-term tactical decisions will be applicable in case of anticipating manoeuvring behaviour.

Once autonomous vessels are able to navigate safely, additional services could be provided to optimise traffic
flows on the waterways making them more reliable and transparent for logistics purposes. However, these
services aren’t part of the Smart Shipping framework but are crucial to fulfil the demands of the Physical Internet
for Inland Navigation.

Although Smart Shipping is still in its infancy, waterway authorities – including those organisations that are
responsible for the development and implementation of RIS – need to take into account this evolution and begin
the cooperation with private parties and other public authorities to foster and harmonise these developments.
This awareness resulted in the establishment of a new PIANC Working Group 210 – Smart Shipping.

Cybersecurity11
Since the end of the last century, the amount and complexity of navigational and information equipment on
inland navigation vessels and for inland navigation infrastructure have increased dramatically. Information and

11
Source: PIANC Task Group TG 204 – ‘Cybersecurity in Inland Navigation’.

29
Communication Technology (ICT) is transforming shipping, bringing enhanced monitoring, communication and
connection capabilities and thereby facilitating the development of new generations of intelligent transport
systems, including automated inland navigation vessels.

While there is already substantial activity on cybersecurity, which is understood as the protection of the afore-
mentioned ICT enabled environment, in maritime navigation (relating to management of shipping companies,
vessels, ports, etc.), important inland navigation stakeholders may even not be aware of the cyber-risks for the
functioning of the inland navigation system.

Therefore, the PIANC Inland Navigation Commission established Task Group 204 to produce an ‘Awareness
Paper on Cybersecurity in Inland Navigation’. This paper, published in January 201912, provides an overview
and stimulates feedback on the cyber-risks for inland navigation (including infrastructure) and on mitigating
measures, taking into account work in neighbouring fields, such as maritime transport and ports management.
The objective is to raise awareness for cybersecurity in inland navigation among practitioners in the
management of inland waterways, ports, as well as shipping companies.

In general, the application of ICT, including River Information Services, in inland navigation offers tremendous
opportunities. At the same time, it creates new and profound risks to all aspects of inland navigation. Therefore,
all feasible measures for mitigating these risks need to be implemented, monitored, and continuously improved.
These measures must include contingency plans with procedures on how to manage situations where the
integrity of ICT systems has been compromised due to cyber-attacks. For a ship, this may even require
discontinuing a journey; for the management of a waterway this may mean the discontinuation of certain
services. In most instances cyber-attacks may result in economic damages only. However, it should not be
forgotten that people's lives and the wellbeing of the environment can be at risk as well.

The RIS COMEX Project13

RIS Corridor Management Execution – RIS COMEX – is a CEF funded multi-Beneficiary project aiming at the
definition, specification, implementation, and sustainable operation of Corridor RIS Operational services. RIS
COMEX started in 2016 and will last until the end of 2020. The project area covers altogether 13 different
European countries having 14 partners who have joined forces to realise Corridor RIS Operational services.

The RIS COMEX project aims for implementation and operation of cross-border River Information Services
based on operational exchange of RIS data. These RIS-based Corridor operational services shall allow for traffic
management by the authorities and transport management by the logistics sector. They make use of available
national infrastructure and services.

The main objectives of the project are:

 Development of an overall Corridor RIS Management concept in dialogue between RIS providers and
logistics users to ensure the relevance of the implemented services.
 Implementation and permanent operation of selected parts of the overall concept providing increased quality
and availability of Fairway, Traffic and Transport Information Services.
 Defined and agreed operational arrangements (legal, organisational, financial, technical, quality) to ensure
sustainable further development, implementation and operation of infrastructure and operational services
for harmonised RIS enabled Corridor Management beyond the lifetime of the project.
 Harmonisation of data exchange concepts for RIS data through the cooperative development and
specification of RIS enabled Corridor Services avoiding the rise of different data exchange concepts.
 RIS COMEX will develop harmonised River Information Services for inclusion in the DINA initiative and will
bring RIS one step further to integration with other transport modes.

The operational corridor management services and the architecture were finalised in 2018, followed by
elaboration of technical specifications and implementation of the RIS COMEX system through 2020 for the
provision of RIS enabled Corridor Management Services in Europe.

It is expected that the RIS COMEX project will have a major impact on the concept, architecture and definition
of River Information Services on a global scale.

12
The awareness paper is available on the PIANC website: InCom TG 204 – ‘Awareness Paper on Cybersecurity in Inland Navigation’
(2019).
13
See for more information: http://www.riscomex.eu.

30
8 CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE
STRUCTURED APPROACH OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RIS
General

The need for RIS should be carefully assessed based on a benefit/cost analysis and consultation with RIS
stakeholders.
In those cases where RIS is deemed necessary for the safety of vessel traffic, protection of the environment,
efficiency of transport, and to increase use of inland waterways (while maintaining safety levels), the Competent
Authority should provide the necessary expertise and arrange funding to provide the desired levels of technology
and expertise to meet the objectives.

RIS operational services, as defined in Chapter 3 and their relation with RIS technical services, can be seen as
a layered model similar to that presented in Figure 8.1. The implementation of RIS should contain a least Fairway
Information Services, and in the next step it can be extended to traffic information, then to traffic management
information as the primary operational services. Based on these three primary operational services, the other
operational services can be implemented.

Figure 8.1: RIS operational services implementation sequence

Mission Statement

The first step in the approach for a structured approach for the implementation of RIS is the definition of a
mission statement.

A mission statement is a formal, written statement of the organisation or RIS authority on objectives that should
be achieved by the implementation of River Information Services. The mission statement should guide the
actions of the organisation, spell out its overall goal, provide a sense of direction and guide decision making. It
provides "the framework or context within which the company's strategies are formulated”.

The mission statement has to be translated into an ‘Implementation Vision’, i.e. it must define what the
organisation wants to realise without specifying how it will be done. Before the Vision Statement can be defined,
training is necessary for the involved partners in existing directives, the technical specifications on RIS and other
relevant documents.

31
 Steps in a Structured Approach for the Implementation of RIS

The Implementation Vision

The Implementation Vision for the structured approach for the implementation of RIS should contain at least
the following items:

1. Definition of Primary Stakeholders. The primary stakeholders have the capabilities, funding and authority
(legal basis) to make decisions for the implementation of RIS. At a minimum, the authorities that will be
responsible for the RIS operational services, RIS technical Services, RIS centre(s) and its organisation are
Primary Stakeholders. To get a clear view on this, it is important to define the working area for which RIS
operational services will be provided.
2. Definition of Secondary Stakeholders. Secondary stakeholders are involved in the implementation and use
of RIS, but do not have the authority to make decisions (e.g. skippers, providers of hydrographical,
hydrological and meteorological data).
3. Definition of RIS Operational services. The Primary Stakeholders must decide which RIS operational
services are needed and to what level of detail each service will be provided. The Primary Stakeholders
should also decide which organisation(s) will implement a certain service.
4. RIS technical services. The RIS operational services to be provided will define which RIS technical services
are necessary to be implemented in order to support provision of these services at the intended level of
detail.
5. Realisation of the RIS Index. In Europe RIS technical services heavily depend upon the RIS Index. The
realisation of the RIS Index is necessary and experience shows that it is not an easy task to create and keep
the RIS Index up-to-date. Special attention should be given to objects in cross-border situation (e.g. fairway
numbers) where entries in the RIS Index should be aligned with neighbouring countries.
6. Evaluation of existing systems. The Primary Stakeholders should decide if they want to realise RIS based
upon new systems or existing systems. The decision to use new systems or existing systems should be
evaluated considering the cost, availability, reliability and training of personnel.
7. Quality of Information Services. Requirements for the level of availability, reliability and other quality of
information services requirements must be determined. Considerations and recommendations on the
Quality Management aspects of the implementation and operation of RIS are provided in Chapter 8.4.
8. Data exchange definition. Data exchange should be defined on two levels:
a. Internal: this covers data exchange with organisations that feed the different systems used for the
implementation of RIS (e.g. hydro-meteo organisations that provide water levels for NtS).
b. External: what information, and how, will be exchanged with neighbouring RIS organisations. There
can be also other organisations that need information (e.g. the government, in case of CAS).
9. Training of personnel. For each RIS operational service implemented, procedures should be defined how
these RIS operational services will be used and maintained. A function of these procedures is the knowledge
(capacity) of the various RIS stakeholders, in particular RIS users, that must be defined together with the
necessary training to achieve that level of knowledge.
10. General Planning. For the implementation of RIS operational services, a time schedule should be made
based upon the operational services that will be implemented. It is important to take into account that
different partners, organisations and international regulations may have an influence in the implementation
and operation of RIS. This can be a very important factor for the definition of the critical path within any
planning framework.
11. Estimation of Cost. The estimation of the cost should contain different items:
a. A calculation of the total cost for the implementation of the RIS operational services.
b. The cost for the management and maintenance of the systems and infrastructure, e.g. FIS portal,
Inland AIS network.
c. Estimation of costs for updates to information services, e.g. Inland ENCs
d. Estimation of costs due to updates and amendments to regulations, guidelines, standards, etc.
e. Estimation of costs due to required software and equipment updates
f. Costs for initial training of personnel and for training updates depending on adjustments in procedures for
the provision and use of RIS operational services.

Implementation

The implementation-vision should be the basis for the implementation of RIS. It should be the blue print of the
project, which should contain at least the following steps:

32
1. Definition of the functional and operational requirements. This is the translation of the objectives defined in
the vision statement into requirements that can be implemented. Functional and operational requirements
should be user/stakeholder driven. These requirements define what should be implemented, but not how
the solution should be implemented. An important task in this phase is also the definition of non-functional
requirements, for example required availability of the selected solution (e.g. does it need 24/7/365
availability?), scalability of the solution and other functional considerations.
2. Prototyping: a prototype should be developed and should be evaluated by the intended users. It is important
that the users are involved in the development of the functionality that will be provided before the technical
design and implementation starts.
3. Technical design: this will translate the requirements into how the system will be developed.
4. Implementation: on the basis of the functional and operational requirements and technical design the
solution will be developed.
5. FAT – Factory Acceptance Test: the implementer proves in a simulated environment that the implementation
fulfils the functional and operational requirements.
6. SAT – Site Acceptance Test: the implementer shows that the implementation fulfils the functional and
operational requirements in the real environment.
7. Training: training institutes and training schools should be involved to develop training courses and to train
the operators and skippers in the use of the implemented systems.
8. System test: the implementer proves that the implementation works without any problems during a number
of days when it is used in a real-time situation.
9. Documentation: is provided on how the implementation is built. A user guide is provided. The necessary
information to maintain the installed equipment and systems is set out and planned.

The above is a minimum list of the steps that are necessary for the planning and implementation of a RIS project.
There are different methods to define the execution of the project, for example the waterfall or Agile
methodology. The chosen methodology will depend on the implementer, the type of the project, the way an
organisation works, etc. But it should be considered that the functional and operational requirements and
prototyping can take an essential and significant part of the total time foreseen for the project. Experience shows
that these are the basis for a successful project.

Consideration on Quality of River Information Services

The purpose of this sub-chapter is to provide consideration on quality-related aspects to be considered for the
planning and operation of River Information Services. The main objective of a quality analysis process is to
determine and agree on specific quality parameters towards the defined services and systems as well as
towards the required data in order to ensure an acceptable quality (service level) for the operation of the services.

The design, operation and maintenance of IT-systems increasingly require a structured quality approach like the
Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) analysis and assessment method. The RAMS method
provides a structured approach for assessing systems’ quality characteristics. It also provides a holistic view for
dimensioning the operational and maintenance procedures taking into account not only functional and
operational requirements, but also construction and design constraints.

Requirements with respect to Quality of Services must ensure an agreed level of service, but the quality
mechanism also has to provide means to control or evaluate the quality level and, if needed, take measures to
improve the services' quality.

A Vision on Quality of Service

It is essential to first define a vision on the required Quality Framework.

The Quality Framework for the provision of RIS should refer to:

 Solid and realistic quality indicators: clearly establish what is envisaged to achieve as a quality parameter
and particularly the reason for which that parameter is established.
 Inclusion of the quality control mechanisms development in the design and implementation of the services.
 Quality cost awareness: establish a quality level against a real demand and measure the associated cost.
 Set up a stepwise approach with a realistic goal.

33
 Figure 8.2: Quality framework

Quality Model Definition

The quality model indicates the overall set of parameters and their values, mechanisms and guidelines aligned
to the RIS implementation profile and its intended results, which will support the assurance of certain behaviour
of the resulted services. The Quality Model has a two-step approach:

 In the implementation phase the quality profile of RIS services and systems has to be defined which means:
- Agree on the quality profile for the services/systems/data (quality parameters associated with each of
them) that will be implemented
- Agree on the level of quality (associating values to the selected parameters)
 During the operation of RIS systems and services, the quality during the operation of RIS has to be
controlled/monitored which means:
- Service responsibility has to be assigned and awareness for this task has to be created
- The quality parameters have to be measured
- The mechanism to monitor the alignment of the services/systems/data to the established level of
quality has to be ensured in case of deviations.

Quality Parameters

The most relevant quality indicators, i.e. those quality indicators that significantly affect the RIS data exchange
service, will be addressed in this chapter as quality parameters.

The description and significance of each quality parameter will be explained in the following paragraphs, where
the quality parameters are grouped in categories.

Quality parameters that affect functional suitability

This category of quality parameters indicates the degree to which a system provides functions that meet the
required and defined needs when the product is used under specified conditions:

 Functional Appropriateness (Correctness) – the degree to which the set of functions is suitable for
specified tasks and user objectives:
- fits applicable standards
- fits format
- fits type of expected data
 Accuracy – the degree to which the system provides the correct results (measured against the real values);
usually measured as tolerance.

Quality parameters that affect performance

This category of Quality Parameters indicates performance relative to the amount of resources used under
stated conditions:

34
 Time Behaviour (or simply Performance) – the response and processing times and throughput rates of a
system when performing its function, under stated conditions in relation to an established benchmark.

Quality parameters that affects reliability

This category of Quality Parameters indicates the degree to which a system or component performs specified
functions under specified conditions for a specified period of time:

 Availability – the degree to which a system or component is operational and accessible when required for
use
 Scalability – the ability of a system to either handle increases in load without impact on the performance of
the system, or the ability to be readily enlarged
 Fault tolerance – the degree to which a system or component operates as intended despite the presence
of hardware or software faults

Each quality parameter has relevance with particular information, components or functions of a system.

Quality Monitoring, Control and Assurance

The quality assurance mechanism, which will often be referred to as the quality component of a system includes
all the means to enable the measurement of the quality parameters defined, the transmission of the results to
user and the support for the actions to be taken in order to correct the eventual deviations. In other words, the
RIS environment quality must be controlled, meaning that:

 the behaviour/data must be continuously monitored

 the behaviour/data must be measured against the quality goal
 the quality assessment results must be produced and accessible to consumers and data suppliers
 actions must be triggered according to quality measurements results

Critical Quality Requirements

The quality requirements that will be assigned to each service or system depends on the impact in the event the
service or system is not functioning. The impact can be spilt into different levels that will have direct influence
on the quality parameter requirements:

 Mission critical systems or services: impact, by their sole functionality, relevant individual goals specific to
inland navigation which are under the scope of RIS services or systems, e.g. a voyage, a locking action.
 Safety critical systems or services: impact, by their sole functionality, human safety or the environment as a
consequence of inland navigation actions under the scope of RIS services or systems.
 Business critical systems or services: impact, by their sole functionality, commercial activities or revenues
directly related to inland navigation.

35
ANNEX 1: Abbreviations
ADN Accord Européen relatif au transport international des marchandises dangereuses,
European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods
AIS Automatic Identification System
ASM Application-Specific Message
AtoN Aids to Navigation
CAS Calamity Abatement Support
CESNI European Committee for drawing up Standards in the field of Inland Navigation
CCNR Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine
CFM Cargo and Fleet Management
EC European Commission
ECDIS Electronic Chart Display and Information System
EDIFACT Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport (UNECE
Standard)
ENC Electronic Navigational Chart
ERI Electronic Reporting International
ETA Estimated Time of Arrival
FIS Fairway Information Services
GPS Global Positioning System
IALA International Organisation of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
IENC Inland Electronic Navigational Chart
IHO International Hydrographic Organisation
ILE Information for Law Enforcement
IMO International Maritime Organisation
ISO International Standardisation Organisation
ISRS International Ship Reporting Standard
ITL Information for Transport Logistics
ITU International Telecommunication Union
LBM Lock and Bridge Management
MKD Minimum Keyboard Display
NtS Notices to Skippers
PIANC International Navigation Association
PTM Port and Terminal Management
RAMS Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety [method for quality assessment]
RIS River Information Services
RTA Requested Time of Arrival
SOTDMA Self-Organised Time Division Multiple Access
STI Strategic Traffic Information (Image)
ST Statistics
TI Traffic Information
TIS Traffic Information Services
TM Traffic Management
TP Traffic Planning
TPM Transport Management
TTI Tactical Traffic Information (Image)
UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
UN/LOCODE United Nations/Location Code
VDL VHF Data Link
VHF Very High Frequency
VP Voyage Planning
VTS Vessel Traffic Services
XML eXtensible Markup Language (a simplified subset of the Standard Generalized Mark-up
Language (SGML))
WCO World Customs Organisation
WCD Waterway Charges and Harbour Dues

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ANNEX 2: Standards and Information on Technical Services for the
Provision of Static Fairway and Infrastructure Information

The technical services on the provision of static fairway and infrastructure information in waterborne transport
that is standardised is restricted to the maritime standard ECDIS and Inland ECDIS based on the maritime
standard.

ECDIS standards:
1. Performance standard according to IMO A.817(19).
2. Operational and performance requirements, methods of testing and required test results according to IEC-
1174.
IHO ENC standards:
3. S-52 is the standard that determines how ENC data is displayed on an ECDIS screen through symbols, line
styles, colours and other visual cues. This means that what the mariner sees on the screen is displayed in
the same way across all approved makes and models of ECDIS.
4. S-57 is the data format standard used for the transfer of digital hydrographic data between national
hydrographic offices and for its distribution to manufacturers, mariners and other data users.
5. S-58 is the standard that sets out validation checks that must be performed on ENCs by hydrographic offices
before they are released.
6. S-63 data which meets these standards is authenticated and comes from an official source, reducing the
risk of using inaccurate data that is posed by unofficial ENCs and the risk of malware being introduced to a
ship's IT systems.
7. S-100 is IHO's universal hydrographic data model and provides the data framework for the development of
the next generation of ENC products, as well as other related digital products required by the hydrographic,
maritime and GIS communities.
S-100 extends the scope of the existing S-57 standard. S-100 is more flexible and makes provision for the
use of imagery and gridded data types, enhanced metadata and multiple encoding formats. It also provides
a more flexible and dynamic maintenance regime via a dedicated online registry. Within S-100 there is a
section for IENC: S-401 maintained by the Inland ENC Harmonisation Group (IEHG)
(http://ienc.openecdis.org/?q=content/iehg).
The S-100 framework is described in the document https://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-100/S-
100_Ed_2/S_100_V2.0.0_June-2015.pdf that explains how the IHO will use and extend the ISO 19100
series of geographic standards for hydrographic, maritime and related issues.
8. S-101 Electronic Navigational Chart Product Specification based on S-100 (future use).
9. S-104 Tidal Information for Surface Navigation still under development (future use).
10. S-112 Dynamic Water Level Data still under development (future use).
11. S-401 Inland Electronic Navigational Chart Product Specification based on S-100 as used for inland
navigation and specified by the Inland ECDIS Harmonisation Group [IEHG]) (future use).

Formal standards for Inland ECDIS in Europe are:

1. Regulation 2018/1973 concerning the technical specifications for the electronic chart display and information
system for inland navigation (Inland ECDIS) in accordance with the RIS Directive 2005/44/EC of the
European Commission.
2. Resolutions of the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine of 2001 and 2006 for Inland ECDIS:
Edition 2.3 (protocol 2001-I-16 and protocol 2006-II-22).
3. Recommendation of the Danube Commission of 2008 for Inland ECDIS Edition 2.1, (DK 201/VII-2001).
4. Resolution No. 48 of the UNECE on Recommendation on electronic chart display and information system
for inland navigation (Inland ECDIS) (ECE/TRANS/SC.3/156/Rev.1).

37
Specific aspects and criteria for the use of Inland ENC in inland waterways in Europe

Inland ECDIS is a European standard regulating the use of Inland ENCs as well as the equipment for the display
of Inland ENC on board. Special attention is given to the “Navigation” mode where an Inland ECDIS is being
integrated into the radar display.
Inland ECDIS shall use chart information as specified by the IHO S57 Standard (edition 3.0) with the additions
published by the IEHG.
Inland ECDIS displays may be used in navigation mode or in information mode.
a. Information mode means the use of an Inland ENC display without traffic information by radar overlay.
b. In navigation mode, an Inland ENC display (operating system software, application software and hardware)
shall have a high level of reliability and availability at least of the same level as other means of navigation.
Inland ECDIS equipment for navigation mode shall be certified by the Competent Authority.
In navigation mode it is mandatory to use official ENCs. Official ENCs are only those published by recognised
National Hydrographic Offices (NHO) or the responsible authority.
Specific aspects and criteria for the use of Inland ENC in the United States

Vessels operating on inland waters in the US may meet chart carriage requirements through use of certified
Inland ENCs "in conjunction with a system sufficient for the intended voyage" (USCG NVIC 01-16). However,
carriage of Inland ENC display systems are not mandatory, and vessels may meet the requirement through
carriage of paper charts that are properly updated and maintained.
Inland ENC overlays are being used and tested on US waters for delivering information in addition to the Inland
ENC. This includes sounding updates in areas with highly changeable bathymetry, aids to navigation and short-
term changes to waterway configuration.

38
ANNEX 3: Standards on Technical Services for the Provision of Dynamic
Fairway and Infrastructure Information
International regulations for Maritime Notices to Mariners are:

1. Resolution MSC.148(77): performance standards for narrow-band direct-printing telegraph equipment for
the reception of navigational and meteorological warnings and urgent information to ships (NAVTEX).
2. Resolution A.700(17): performance standards for narrow-band direct-printing telegraph equipment for the
reception of navigational and meteorological warnings and urgent information to ships (MSI) by HF.

Formal standards for Notices to Skippers (NtS) in Europe are:

3. EC Regulation 2018/2032 concerning the technical specifications for Notices to Skippers as referred to in
Article 5 of the RIS Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Commission.
4. Resolution of the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine of 2004: on Notice to Skippers for
Inland Navigation: Edition 3.0 (Resolution 2004-I-17).
5. UNECE Resolution No.60 on International Standards for Notices to Skippers and for Electronic Ship
Reporting in Inland Navigation (ECE/TRANS/SC.3/175, as amended).
6. UNECE Resolution No.80 on International Standard for Notices to Skippers in Inland Navigation
(ECE/TRANS/SC.3/199, as amended).

Specific aspects and criteria for the use of Notices to Skippers in inland waterways in Europe
In Europe the technical service to provide dynamic fairway and infrastructure information is ‘Notices to Skippers’.
NtS provide the following information in a standardised format:
 Dynamic fairway and traffic-related messages
 Water level-related messages
 Ice messages
 Weather-related messages

39
ANNEX 4: Standards and Information on Technical Services for the
Provision of Vessel Information
The standard for the technical service to provide vessel information is AIS or for inland waterways in Europe
Inland AIS
International regulations for Maritime AIS are:

1. IMO Resolution MSC.74(69) Annex 3: Recommendation on performance standards for AIS.

2. ITU Recommendation ITU-R M.1371: Technical characteristics for a universal shipborne automatic
identification system, using time division multiple access in the VHF maritime mobile band.
3. ITU Recommendation ITU-R M.585 Assignment and use of identities in the maritime mobile service.
4. IALA Recommendation A-124 on the AIS Service.
5. IALA Technical clarifications on recommendation ITU-R M.1371-3.
6. IEC 61993-2 Automatic identification systems (AIS) part 2: class A shipborne equipment of the universal
shipborne automatic identification system (AIS).
7. IALA Guidelines on the automatic identification system (AIS) IALA Guideline No. 1028 on The Automatic
Identification System (AIS) Volume 1, Part I Operational Issues.
8. IALA Guideline No. 1029 on The Automatic Identification System (AIS) Volume 1, Part II – Technical Issues.
9. IALA Guideline No. 1081 on provision of virtual Aids to Navigation.

Formal standards for Inland AIS in Europe are:

10. EC Regulation No 415/2007 concerning the technical specifications for vessel tracking and tracing systems
referred to in Article 5 of RIS Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Commission.
11. Resolutions of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) of 2006 and 2007 for Vessel
Tracking and Tracing for Inland Navigation: Edition 1.2 (Protocol 2006-II-23 and 2007-II-13)
12. Resolutions of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) of 2007 on Type approval,
installation and operation of Inland AIS devices on inland navigation vessels (Protocol 2007-I-15 and 2007-
II-24).
13. UNECE Resolution No.63 on International Standard for Tracking and Tracing on Inland Waterways (VTT).
14. CESNI Edition 2017/2.0 Inland AIS Shipborne Equipment According to the Vessel Tracking and Tracing
Standard for Inland Navigation Operational and Performance Requirements, Methods of Test and Required
Test Results (Test Standard Inland AIS).
The Inland AIS Standard defines:
 Functional requirements for Inland AIS devices
 Technical requirements for Inland AIS devices
 Inland specific AIS messages for the exchange of inland specific data between Inland AIS devices via the
AIS radio channels
 Application Specific Messages (ASM) for data exchange between at Inland AIS devices connected
applications

Specific aspects and criteria for the use of inland AIS in European Waterways

Inland AIS is the European standard for vessel tracking and tracing. It is fully based on maritime AIS Class A
mobile station but defines additional application-specific messages (ASM) for transmitting inland waterway-
related information.
Some messages must be integrated into the AIS unit, while others are handled and displayed via Inland ECDIS
displays connected to the AIS.
In view of their shared information content, Inland AIS and maritime AIS are compatible.

40
All data transmitted can be received by both maritime and Inland AIS devices to be visually displayed and
analysed, however the specifically Inland AIS information is only transmitted and assessed by Inland AIS
devices.
On several European Inland waterways, a carriage requirement for Inland AIS is in force for vessels greater
than 20 m in length.
The information transmitted by AIS can be divided into the following categories:
a. Static information, such as vessel number, call-sign, vessel name, vessel type
b. Dynamic information, such as position of the ship with data on accuracy and integrity status
c. Voyage-related information, such as length and beam of combinations, dangerous cargo
d. For inland AIS in Europe, specific information is required like:
1. Standard European Vessel Number (ENI)14
2. Inland vessel and convoy types according UNECE Recommendation 28
3. Category of dangerous cargo (number of blue cones/lights)
4. Estimated time of arrival (ETA) at locks, bridges, terminals, borders (if regionally required)

Inland AIS in Europe uses the same parameters and the same message structure as AIS Class A mobile stations
according IMO requirements. However, Inland AIS extends the information content according inland navigation
requirements. Fields with unused parameters are defined as ‘not available’.
When using Inland AIS in inland navigation the shipmaster must manually input the following data at the start of
the voyage and whenever the data is amended and available:
a. navigational status
b. inland vessel and convoy type
c. length/beam of vessel
d. category of dangerous cargo (if regionally required)
e. draught of the vessel (if regionally required)
f. loaded/unloaded (if regionally required)
g. port of destination and ETA (if regionally required)

The skipper has to regularly check to ensure the static and dynamic ship data is correct and reflects the current
situation.
The Minimum Keyboard and Display (MKD) for Inland AIS mobile stations must allow users to enter and view
the mandatory data for Inland AIS to be transmitted via Application-Specific Messages (ASM). Other features
provided via these ASMs which cannot be interfaced through the MKD should be processed and displayed on
an external device connected to the Presentation Interface (PI) port of the Inland AIS mobile station. Typically,
such external device is an Inland ECDIS application, use in either navigation or information mode. It is essential
to harmonise the requirements for processing and display of Inland AIS ASMs in Inland ECDIS applications and
the mandatory ASMs on the MKD.

14
Seagoing vessels should use the IMO number but are obliged in Europe to have inland AIS implemented on inland waterways.

41
ANNEX 5: Standards and Information on Technical Services for the
Provision of Voyage and Cargo Information

Electronic Reporting is based on standardised procedures and messages, only in operation on European inland
waterways.
Formal standards for electronic reporting in inland waterways in Europe:

1. EC Regulation No 164/2010 on the technical specifications for electronic ship reporting in inland navigation
referred to in article 5 of Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Commission on harmonised River
Information Services (RIS).
2. Resolutions of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine of 2003 and 2006 on Electronic
Reporting in Inland Navigation: edition April 2013: (Resolution 2003-I-23 and 2006-II-23).
3. United Nations recommendations regarding the interchange of trade data (UN CEFACT recommendation
25, 31 and 32, EDI and E-Commerce agreements).
4. UNECE Resolution No.79 on International Standards for Electronic Ship Reporting in Inland Navigation
(ECE/TRANS/SC.3/198, as amended).
Specific aspects and criteria for the use of electronic reporting on European inland waterways

The Electronic Reporting Regulation (ERI) is the European standard for electronic reporting of voyage and cargo
information in Europe.
Electronic reporting includes the following messaging procedures:
a. Ship-to-authority messaging, dealing with:
 Voyage notification message
 Transport notification messages on the voyages of loaded or empty ships within the jurisdictional area
of the authority where such is applicable
 Arrival notification and position reports at locks, bridges, reporting points of traffic centres
b. Authority-to-authority messaging dealing with transport notifications for ships, carrying cargo or being empty,
travelling from one jurisdictional area to the other.
c. Authority-to-ship messaging mainly consists of acknowledgements and responses to previously submitted
notification messages and may also include the sending of dynamic fairway information, such as Notices to
Skippers and may also include voyage notification updates.
Currently four messages are officially published
 ERINOT – Reporting of voyage related information and of in-formation on dangerous and non-dangerous
cargo carried on-board vessels sailing on inland waterways
 ERIRSP – Acknowledgement and optionally response from authority
 PAXLST – Transfer of passenger/crew data from authority to authority
 BERMAN – Notification sent by vessels sailing on inland waterways before arriving at or departing from
a berth or a port

The ERIVOY message is not part of the official standard but important to report voyages which include multiple
stops. It is recommended to use the ERIVOY message.

42
ANNEX 6: Information on Reference Data
Fairway and Infrastructure Reference Data
UN/LOCODE

The UN/LOCODE is a geographic coding scheme developed and maintained by United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe. The UN/LOCODE assigns codes to locations used in trade and transport with functions
such as seaports, rail and road terminals, airports, postal exchange office and border crossing points.
UN/LOCODEs have five characters:
 The first two letters code a country by the table defined in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
 The three remaining characters code a location within that country. Letters are preferred, but if necessary,
digits 2 through 9 may be used, excluding ‘0’ and ‘1’ to avoid confusion with the letter’s ‘O’ and ‘I’,
respectively.

European RIS Index for Inland Waterways

A special group of reference data is covered by the RIS index.

All technical services in the European context of RIS – Inland ECDIS, AIS, electronic reporting and Notices to
Skippers in Europe – require unambiguous coding of locations of geographic objects. The use of the RIS
index/ISRS location code for geographic objects in Notices to Skippers and ECDIS facilitates the integration of
Notices to Skippers in Inland ECDIS.
The location code is a unique ID for each piece of infrastructure, which is of importance for RIS. Each object in
the RIS index shall have only one location code, even when those objects are located on common stretches of
a waterway for two or more countries.
The location code used in the RIS is a 20-digit alpha-numerical code – the ISRS location code – which consists
of the following data elements:
a. UN Country code (2 letters)
b. UN Location code (3 letters)
c. Fairway section code (5 digits, alpha-numerical)
d. Object reference code (5 digits, alpha-numerical)
e. Fairway section hectometre (5 digits, numerical)

The RIS Index is a list of location ISRS location codes with additional information on the objects like their
characteristics (name, fairway, etc.), restrictions (available depth, clearance, etc.), operating times, etc.
In an international fairway network, the introduction of a harmonised fairway ID is seen as a positive contribution
to the need for linking the RIS index of different countries.
Vessel Identification Reference Data
IMO Vessel Number for Maritime Vessels

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) number is a unique reference for ships and for registered ship
owners and management companies. IMO numbers were introduced under the SOLAS Convention to improve
maritime safety and security and to reduce maritime fraud. For ships, the IMO number remains linked to the hull
for its lifetime, regardless of a change in name, flag or owner.
The IMO ship identification number is made of the three letters ‘IMO’, followed by the seven-digit number. This
consists of a six-digit sequential unique number followed by a check digit. The integrity of an IMO number can
be verified using its check digit.
IMO ship identification numbers are assigned by IHS Markit (previously Lloyd's Register-Fairplay).
ENI Number for Inland Vessels

The ENI number (European Number of Identification or European Vessel Identification Number) is a registration
for ships capable of navigating on European inland waters. Like the IMO number, it is a unique, eight-digit
identifier that is attached to a hull for its entire lifetime, independent of the vessel's current name or flag.

43
The ENI number consists of eight Arabic numerals. The first three digits identify the Competent Authority where
the number is assigned (see ‘List of prefixes’ below) and the last five digits are a serial number.
The ENI number is based on the Rhine Vessel certification system previously used for ships navigating the
Rhine. The ENI number is issued by the national Competent Authority for vessel inspection.
In order to ensure the uniqueness of ENI numbers, the European Vessel Hull Database (EHDB) operated and
maintained by the European Commission provides a central repository of all ENI numbers issued in Europe.
Reference Data on Cargo
HS Code

The Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, also known as the Harmonised System (HS) of
tariff nomenclature is an internationally standardised system of names and numbers to classify traded products.
It has been developed and maintained by the World Customs Organisation (WCO).
The HS code consists of 6-digits. The first two digits designate the HS Chapter. The second two digits designate
the HS heading. The third two digits designate the HS subheading. HS code 1006.30, for example indicates
Chapter 10 (Cereals), Heading 06 (Rice) and Sub-heading 30 (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not
polished or glazed).

Figure Annex 6.1: Example of the hierarchical structure of the Harmonised System

UNECE ADN (Dangerous Goods) Code

There is a European code for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN) developed and
formalised by the UNECE and the CCNR.

ADN contain provisions concerning dangerous substances and articles, provisions concerning their carriage in
packages and bulk on board of inland navigation vessels or tank vessels, as well as provisions concerning the
construction and operation of vessels carrying this type of cargo. ADN also addresses requirements and
procedures for inspections, the issue of certificates of approval, recognition of classification societies,
monitoring, and training and examination of experts.

44
 Cover picure is provided by “De Vlaamse Waterweg”.

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Boulevard du Roi Albert II 20, B 3
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http://www.pianc.org
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