Delegates from Angola and a representative of IMO have been able to test out the maritime single window (MSW) platform developed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore for the Port of Lobito, Angola. The opportunity came at a business process study workshop in Singapore (27-30 June), as part of the Single Window for Facilitation of Trade (SWiFT) Project.
The SWiFT pilot project was launched by IMO and Singapore last year to support medium-sized ports to meet the requirements of the International Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) and facilitate interconnectivity between ports worldwide.
The maritime single window facilitates the seamless electronic submission of information required for ships calling in the Port of Lobito via a single digital portal. From 1 January 2024 it will be mandatory for ports around the world to operate MSWs. Read more here about MSWs.
The formal handover of the MSW platform and completion of the SWiFT pilot Project is expected to take place by October.
Participants at the workshop included representatives of the Ministry of Transport of Angola; the Agência Marítima Nacional (AMN); Administração Geral Tributária (AGT); Agência Reguladora de Certificação de Carga e Logística de Angola (ARCCLA); the Port of Lobito, and ship agents based there; and the Port of Luanda.