What is Export Pre-Advice?

The PortConnect Export Pre-Advice screen allows users to advise our partner ports of incoming export containers. Ports require this to ensure containers are handled and stored correctly. This functionality is provided for Port of Tauranga, Ports of Auckland and Timaru Container Terminal.

Most shipping lines send their bookings to PortConnect Bookings are used to pre-populate container details in a Pre-Advice and to ensure the Pre-Advice is valid.

You cannot gate in your container without an Export Pre-Advice.

Starting an Export Pre-Advice

1. Login to PortConnect. If you do not have a login, you will need to Register. 

2. Select Services > Export Pre-Advice. Then follow the steps below

Open

Unknown Booking Number

Open

Line Operator Booking Summary

The following Line Operators send Bookings to the ports and PortConnect:

These operators do not send bookings:

• Matson

• Swire Shipping
  
  

Consignment and Vessel Details

Load Port

You can select one of our partner ports depending on which port the container is booked for. If the container is going to Metroport Auckland, select Port of Tauranga as the Load Port.

Receive Location

This is where you enter the facility that the container will be delivered to.

• For Port of Tauranga the options are ‘Metroport Auckland’, ‘Tauranga’ and ‘Ruakura’.

• For Timaru Container Terminal the options are ‘Metroport Rolleston’ and ‘Timaru’.

• Ports of Auckland is not currently using this functionality so the field defaults to ‘Auckland’ which covers both Wiri and the seaport.

Load Port vs Receive Location

The load port is where the container will be loading/exporting from.

The receive location (depending on the port) is where the container is first being received into.

** For example, Port of Tauranga would be the load port but the container will be received at their inland port first (Metroport) and be railed down to The port of Tauranga to be loaded onto a vessel **

District of Origin

This is where the goods come from and/or where the container was packed. The District of Origin list varies based on the selected load port.

Vessel Visit

This field displays the Vessel Name, the Voyage Number (this is the official voyage number which may be different from the voyage numbers used by individual Line Operators on the vessel) and the Expected Time of Departure (ETD) of the vessel. 

• You can start typing the name of a vessel and a drop down box will appear to give you suggestions.

• Only vessels with an arrival date of up to 30 days in the future can be selected

Discharge Port

• Discharge ports are limited by Vessel Visit.

• The discharge port is the port where the goods are to be unloaded off the vessel first, not necessarily the final destination. Many containers do not go directly to their final destination port and may stop at a Tranship port to change vessels. 

• The list of Discharge Ports is managed by the ports. If you suspect that a discharge port is missing from the list please contact your shipping line and they will be able to advise the port to add the missing discharge port.

Final Destination Country/Port

• These fields are the Country and Port where the goods are ultimately bound for. This may not match the first discharge port.

• Type in the first three letters of the Final destination Port and a list of options will appear on the screen.

Shipper

This is the Exporting party and/or the party that has made the booking with the Shipping Line. This may be different from the party entering the Pre-Advice. Select the Shipper from the drop down. If the Shipper you are looking for is not on the list please contact info@portconnect.co.nz.

Acknowledgment Email(s)

• An email can be sent to you and to anyone else who wish to receive confirmation of the Pre-Advice status.

• Acknowledgment emails will be sent for Successful and Un-Successful Pre-Advice.

• The email address that is linked to your account will automatically populate in the screen when you start a pre-advice.

• PortConnect can set the Acknowledgment Email to automatically go to a mailing list of your choice. Contact info@portconnect.co.nz and provide a list of email addresses if you would like this to be set up.

Containers on Pre-Advice

Container Number

Container numbers must be within 3 and 11 digits. If you enter a non-standard or incorrect container number PortConnect will display a warning so you can check the container number.

We have added a Check Digit Override option for containers that do not fit the standard container number formula. This override button should only be used if you have physically confirmed that the number on the side of the container does not match the number we have calculated.

Verified Gross Mass (VGM)

Verified Gross Mass (VGM) refers to the overall weight of a container as verified by one of two official methods.  

• Enter a weight in the Verified Gross Mass field in KGs. If the container is empty then enter the tare weight of the container in this field.

• If you do not yet have the confirmed VGM weight, leave the field blank and save the container to the Containers on Pre-Advice list. The container will be identified as not yet having a weight.

• Our Partner Ports require that containers must have a confirmed VGM weight before the Pre-Advice can be submitted to the port.

VGM Declaration

You must tick this box to confirm the VGM is correct and true. Containers that do not have this option ticked will not be submitted to the port on the Pre-Advice. You can use the space bar to tick this box.

Cargo Gross Weight

This is the weight of the contents including packaging and dunnage. If the container is empty, enter 0 in this field. This number must be in KGs.

ISO Type

Choose the container type. Depending on the type you choose, more fields may appear at the bottom of the screen. If you have any trouble finding the correct ISO code please check our Container ISO Type List.

Door Off / Door Tied Back containers

PortConnect cannot record if a container is Door Off or Door Tied Back. If you are pre-advising such a container please send this information to the customer service team of the port that the container will be delivered to.

Mode of Arrival

This is the mode of arrival to the port Receival Location (this may be different to the mode of arrival to the seaport). Choose Truck or Rail. If the mode is Vessel, Pre-Advice is not required.

Carrier

You can choose the carrier company that you expecting to use for delivery to the the Receival Location.

Commodity Code

• You can build a commodity code, level by level, or you can stay at the base (2 digit) level for commodity code entry. To find the right commodity start typing either a code or the description.

• You can choose a high level code or you can drill down and choose low level commodity details – only the high level code is mandatory.

• If there is more than one commodity in the container please select the commodity that makes up the majority or major portion of the consignment.

• As you use the Commodity Code Finder, a code will automatically start populating in the Commodity Code field. If you know the commodity code already you can enter it directly into the Commodity Code field. 

• Only certain commodities are allowed in a reefer container. If you have any trouble finding the correct commodity code please check our Commodity Code List or contact info@portconnect.co.nz.

• If the container is empty, select commodity code 00 - Empty Container.

Seals

• You can enter up to 4 Seals. The first seal you enter will be the main seal.

• At least 1 Seal is mandatory for all containers. If you are pre-advising empty containers, flat racks or tank containers enter 'NA'.

Hazardous Goods

1. Specify whether the container has Hazardous goods or not.

If you have no MFAG then you can tick N/A

Note: The DGs pre-advised must match the DGs in the booking.

Reefer and Conditioning Settings

1. Select a reefer container type from the ISO Type list and the ‘Other Information – Reefer’ and the 'Other Information - Conditioning' sections will appear. Some fields differ depending on the load port.

2. Only certain commodities are allowed in a reefer container. You can view the Commodity Code List to see which commodity codes can be used in a reefer container.

3. If a container is a Reefer or Fantainer you can add Conditioning settings. These fields are not mandatory. 

4. ‘Active Refrigeration required?’ field that you can select Yes or No (Only available for Port of Tauranga and Timaru Container Terminal).

Active Refrigeration indicates that the container must be connected to a generator while being transported from Inland port to Sea port. There will be additional port charges payable for this service. Details of charges can be found on the Port of Tauranga Tariffs and Terms website here.

Non-operating reefer containers

Users can submit Pre-Advice for non-operating reefer (NOR) containers. NOR only applies to Pre-advice that is completed in the website, currently not available for B2B XML Pre-Advice.

Over Dimension

If a container is a Flatrack or Open Top you can add Over Dimension measurements in centimeters.

Bundling Flat racks (Master & Slaves)

Ports of Auckland - If you require containers to be bundled, you must submit Pre-Advice for the master and slaves individually.

Port of Tauranga and Timaru Container Terminal only - There is a field to pre-advise bundled flat racks. You must identify a Master unit and Payload units for Bundled containers.

Flexi Tanks

Port of Tauranga and Timaru Container Terminal only - Users are now able to indicate whether a container includes a Flexi-tank or not. The field will default to No. Flexi-tanks are a type of packaging that fits inside containers. 

Pre-Advice with more than 75 containers

Only 75 containers can be pre-advised per pre-advice. To pre-advise the remaining containers you will need to start a new Pre-Advice with the same Booking Number but a different User Reference or, Remove successfully pre-advised containers before then adding additional containers.

Cancel Changes

To cancel any changes before saving a Pre-Advice, simply click ‘Cancel Changes’.

Save Pre-Advice

• You can save a Pre-Advice at any time, but this will not submit the Pre-Advice.

• Once you click ‘Save’ you can close PortConnect and return to the Pre-Advice in the future.

• To see how to reopen a saved Pre-Advice go to Populate from Draft/Recent.

Submit Pre-Advice

Once the Pre-Advice has been submitted you will see summary messages at the top of the page which display whether containers have been successfully pre-advised or not. Individual containers which also display whether they have been successful or if there are have been errors. 

Error messages

Pre-Advice submissions can be rejected for a number of reasons. The below table shows common error messages and who to contact to resolve these errors.

Remove a Container from your Pre-Advice

The Remove button 

• This button will remove a container from a Pre-Advice so it is no longer submitted but this will not cancel the Pre-Advice for this container.

• You should use the remove button when:

  • You have incorrectly added a container, before you have submitted the Pre-Advice.

  • You have successfully submitted a container and you no longer want to see it in your acknowledgment emails.
    
    

Cancel a Container from your Pre-Advice

The Cancel button 

• This button will Cancel the Pre-Advice for a container in the port system and remove it from the screen.

• You should use the cancel button when you have previously pre-advised an incorrect container number or a container will no longer be delivered against the specified booking.

• This button allows users to manage the number of containers linked to a Booking so that the total number of linked containers does not exceed the Booking Quanta (the number of containers specified by the Shipping Line in the Booking).

• This should only be used to cancel incorrectly pre-advised containers that will no longer be delivered to the port against the booking.

• If you need to update the container details (other than the container number), simply update the container information, please do not cancel the container.

• You will receive a cancellation acknowledgement email.

• If you have accidentally clicked the remove button, you need to add your container and it’s information back into the pre-advice and then click the Red X.

Once you click Delete you will see a confirmation pop-up. Click 'Yes, Cancel' to delete the container.

If you cannot see your incorrect container number then add your container back onto the screen then click cancel.

Check that your receive location is set to the location you submitted to before cancelling your container.

You can also cancel a container pre-advice by clicking the “View Pre-advised Containers” button at the bottom of the screen to get the pop-up and clicking the Red X cancel button in that pop-up.

Populate from Draft/Recent

Edit a saved or submitted Pre-Advice

1. Open Draft/Recent Pre-Advice

2. On the container row, click on the edit icon

3. Edit the container details > Save

4. Save or Save and Submit the Pre-Advice

Request Express Pin

For containers Pre-Advised for Ports of Auckland, users can Request Express Pin.

Printing Pre-Advice

There is currently no print function in PortConnect Pre-Advice. If you wish to print a copy of your Pre-Advice:

1. Take a screen shot and print the screen shot.

2. Print a copy of the received Acknowledgement email.